The High Council of Justice of Georgia (official photo)
Critics of judicial power in Georgia resist the lifetime appointments of ruling party–backed members of the ‘old clan’ of judges to the Supreme Court.
Eka Beselia (Tabula)
At least four MPs from Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party have threatened to leave the party, including the influential former legal affairs committee chair Eka Beselia. The split has occurred over a list of candidates for Georgia’s Supreme Court who critics say are part of a ‘clan’ within the judiciary.
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The protest outside the High Court of Justice on 21 January in Tbilisi (/Liberali)
A group of judges being considered for Georgia’s Supreme Court has asked parliament to disregard their nominations, citing a campaign of ‘unprecedented pressure’ on the judiciary. Their nominations had been controversial after rights groups, the opposition, the Public Defender, and several members of the ruling party accused them of being compromised and condemned the ‘rushed’ confirmation process.
President Giorgi Margvelashvili (Facebook)
Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has come under fire from civil society groups as well as ruling party and opposition MPs for refusing to nominate a candidate to head the Supreme Court. Some critics warned the move could allow a ‘dominant group of judges’ on Georgia’s High Council of Justice to strengthen their grip over the judiciary. [Read more…]
Nino Gvenetadze (/Supreme Court of Georgia)
The chairperson of the Supreme Court of Georgia, Nino Gvenetadze, has resigned for ‘health reasons’, sparking controversy about whether she was pressured to leave the post. Some officials, including Justice Minister Tea Tsulukiani, said her resignation came as a surprise. President Margvelashvili meanwhile pointed to ‘harsh conditions’ in the court system, with Gvenetadze having called herself a ‘victim of violence’ on the Georgian High Council of Justice (HCOJ). [Read more…]
The Supreme Court of Georgia (Facebook)
Georgia’s Supreme Court has declared official email correspondence to be public information, which should be accessible to anyone. [Read more…]
The Supreme Court of South Ossetia (Natalya Ayriyan /Sputnik)
The Supreme Court of South Ossetia has ruled that Jehovah’s Witnesses are an extremist organisation, effectively outlawing them.
