high council of justice

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Georgia

Georgian opposition bloc ejects members for voting for ruling party judicial candidates

by Shota Kincha

•3 min read

Five members of Georgia’s main parliamentary opposition faction, the United National Movement (UNM) — Strength in Unity, were ejected from the bloc on 17 May, after casting the deciding votes electing the ruling party’s preferred candidates to Georgia’s High Council of Justice. The High Council of Justice (HCOJ) is an independent agency responsible for overseeing Georgia’s judiciary. Its reform is seen as being important to Georgia’s EU membership candidacy bid. On Thursday, the ruling Ge

19 April plenary session. Official photo

Georgia’s ‘Clan of Judges’

Georgian Dream stalls parliament’s investigation of US-sanctioned judges

by Shota Kincha

•5 min read

The Georgian Dream parliamentary majority has deliberately failed quorum to prevent opposition MPs from setting up a commission to investigate senior Georgian judges sanctioned by the United States. The Wednesday session would have seen 50 opposition MPs join forces to form a temporary fact-finding commission to investigate allegations of corruption against four judges sanctioned by Washington. However, the session fell 16 MPs short of meeting quorum after the parliamentary majority delibera

Clockwise from top left: Levan Murusidze, Mikheil Chinchaladze, Irakli Shengelia, Valeri Tsertsvadze

Georgia

US sanctions senior Georgian judges for ‘undermining rule of law’

by Shota Kincha

•3 min read

The US has imposed sanctions on three current and one former judge alleged to be members of a ruling-party-associated ‘clan’ in Georgia’s judicial system. On Wednesday, the US State Department accused judges Mikheil Chinchaladze, Levan Murusidze, and Irakli Shengelia, and one former judge, Valerian Tsertsvadze, of ‘involvement in significant corruption’ and ‘undermining the rule of law’. The four Georgian nationals and their immediate family members have been banned from entering the USA.

Conference of Judges at HCoJ on 23 October. Source: HCoJ

Georgia

‘A slap in the face of Georgia’s EU perspective’: opposition alarmed by judicial appointments

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

Members of an influential group of judges linked to Georgia’s ruling party have been re-elected to the High Council of Justice (HCoJ), an independent agency responsible for overseeing Georgia’s judiciary. On Sunday, the 31st Conference of Judges elected Levan Murusidze and Dimitri Gvritishvili as new members of the High Council of Justice after their predecessors abruptly resigned. The HCoJ has been accused by local watchdogs of being dominated by a ‘clan’ allied with the ruling Georgian D

Georgia

President Zurabishvili joins critics over Georgia’s judicial reforms

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has joined a growing chorus of criticism towards the perceived lack of independence of Georgia’s judiciary. In a press briefing Wednesday evening, the president called the ‘timing and form’ of two recent appointments to the High Council of Justice (HCoJ) ‘incomprehensible’, adding that it contradicted the judicial reforms agenda of the country. On 31 October, the council, a stand-alone agency responsible for overseeing the judiciary, elected two men, P

Georgia

Survey finds courts among the least trusted institutions in Georgia

by OC Media

•4 min read

A study by CRRC commissioned by Transparency International found that 53% of respondents believed the Georgian judicial system was ‘under influence of the ruling party’. According to the results of a recent survey conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), only 5% of Georgians said they fully trusted Georgia’s courts, while 20% said they did not trust them at all. The results of the study, commissioned and published by watchdog group Transparency International Georgia, sa

Georgia

Georgian Supreme Court head’s resignation raises questions if she was pressured

by OC Media

•4 min read

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). Gvenetadze was appointed Su