The signatory organizations appeal to every judge not to allow them to be used as an instrument against Georgia’s integration into the European Union.
On March 24, 2024, a Conference of Judges will be held, where the clan reportedly plans to present a draft appeal and gain the support of the corps of judges to avoid their integrity check, which is in direct contradiction to the nine steps outlined by the European Commission.
As we all know, after receiving the status of a candidate for EU membership, within the nine steps outlined for Georgia by the European Commission, our country is obliged to implement a comprehensive justice reform, which also includes the introduction of an extraordinary “vetting” mechanism for integrity checking only of those persons who hold senior positions in the judiciary and candidates for judicial positions.
Instead of urgently developing a plan to fulfill the above-mentioned EC condition, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Parliament declared the issue of checking the integrity of judges as “closed”.
The European Union, in an emergency statement of March 22, 2024, once again reaffirmed that to amend the systemic flaws in the judicial system, it is expected from our country establish an emergency system for checking the integrity of judges, in which international experts will play a decisive role. In the same statement, the European Union called on the Georgian authorities to stop attacking those individual judges who expressed their opinion regarding the integrity check.
Despite the EU’s request, the idea of creating an integrity check mechanism, along with government leaders, is adamantly opposed by a group of influential judges dominating the judicial system, whose integrity has long been questioned both inside and outside the country. It is probably at the request of this group that the Plenum of the Supreme Court issued a statement on March 11, in which the examination of the judge’s integrity was announced as a “procedure damaging the dignity, independence, and institutional reputation”.
If to look at the agenda of the conference of March 24, the first topic is “Discussion of the Court-Related Developments”. It seems that influential judges, who have strongly negative attitude towards the judicial integrity check mechanism, will try to avoid it, skulking behind other judges participating in the conference.
Based on Article 78 of the Constitution of Georgia, the constitutional bodies within their powers are obliged to take all measures to ensure the full integration of Georgia in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Two days before the judges’ conference, the European Union, in its emergency statement, emphasized the importance of the independence of individual judges and reaffirmed its support for all judges who had expressed their willingness to check the integrity of judges holding senior positions. We know the attitude and support of a large part of the judges towards European integration. Therefore, we would like to remind them that on the one hand, the European future of our country is at stake, and on the other hand, the personal interests of an influential group of judges are at stake. Their position can have an essential impact on the European integration process of Georgia. That is why we call on each of them not to allow the clan to use the corps of judges to hinder Georgia’s progress on the path to the European Union.
Signatory organizations:
