Georgian Parliament Speaker Kakha Kuchava has responded to a joint letter published on May 22 by EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell, U.S. Ambassador Kelly Degnan and Head of the European Council Office Natalia Vutova regarding the judicial reform.

According to Kakha Kuchava, “Georgia’s Parliament will act on the basis of the principle of independence of the judiciary and the agreement signed by the political parties."

“On April 19, the political parties signed an agreement that, among other things, includes judiciary-related issues. In particular, according to the agreement, by the end of the 2022 spring session, with the involvement of international experts, the practice of implementing the third and fourth waves of judicial reform should be studied and a new package of judicial reform should be developed based on the findings. This package should also include issues of the High Council of Justice. The Parliament of Georgia should faithfully fulfill the mentioned condition of the political agreement and, in line with the terms stipulated in the document, and based on a transparent and inclusive process, adopt the relevant legislative package by the end of next spring session.

The Parliament of Georgia hastily reviewed and endorsed the amendments to the law on the election of the Supreme Court judges. In particular, in accordance to the political agreement, legislative changes were adopted, which fully reflected all three key recommendations of the Venice Commission regarding the election of the Supreme Court judges: a) an open ballot system was introduced; b) the High Council of Justice has been obliged to decide on the nomination of candidates according to the points assigned to the candidates; c) the rule of the double appeal of the High Council of Justice decisions has been introduced. Following these changes, vacancies were re-announced, and only then the procedure for selecting Supreme Court judges has been resumed. This very condition was reflected in the political agreement. Given that the decision of the High Council of Justice to nominate candidates for the Supreme Court will be in full compliance with the key recommendations of the Venice Commission, which is part of a political agreement, the Parliament of Georgia is obliged to act by the Constitution of Georgia and approve the candidates aligned with the rules established by the Georgian legislation.

A working group meeting is scheduled for the next week to plan working on judicial reform, insuring all the representation of all political parties. According to the Constitution of Georgia and relevant legislation, the Parliament of Georgia is responsible for approving non-judicial members of the High Council of Justice in June this year. Therefore, the Parliament of Georgia is not authorized to wait for the legislative changes to be made at the 2022 Spring Session and to leave five vacancies at the Council unfilled for the next year. Accordingly, the Parliament of Georgia is obliged to announce a competition for the selection of candidates in the coming days. At the same time, the Parliament of Georgia realizes the obligation to elect the members of the Council with the proper involvement of political parties. As the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, I am responsible for ensuring this process. As the Speaker of the Parliament, whose primary duty is to comply with the Constitution of Georgia and the procedures provided by law, also act per the terms of the political agreement, I emphasize once again that, while making decisions related to the judiciary, the Parliament of Georgia will as act based on the Constitution of Georgia, the legislation of Georgia, the principle of independence of the judiciary and the agreement signed by political parties,” Kakha Kuchava said.

The EU and the US Ambassadors called on the parliament on Saturday “to start inclusive discussions on the institutional reform of the High Council of Justice and, accordingly, to revise the rules for judicial appointments to courts, for handling disciplinary measures against judges, and to introduce transparent and comprehensive systems of appraisals, promotions, and transfers of judges and judicial staff in line with international standards and best practices. These discussions should include civil society, the Georgian Bar Association, the Public Defender, and the opposition.”