Supreme Court of Georgia

The Chairman of the Supreme Court Introduced the Venice Commission Opinion to the Journalists

Published: 03/11/2013

As a result of several months of work the Venice Commission presented its report prepared on the draft project of legislative amendments of the Ministry of Justice about the reformation of High Council of Justice.

The draft project of legislative amendments on the reformation of High Council of Justice was prepared by the Ministry of Justice. The great majority of these amendments were agreed by the Judiciary, though there were some important issues in the presented draft law, which according to the representatives of the Judiciary were opposed to the Constitution of Georgia and to the principles of judicial independence guaranteed by the Constitution. 

The Supreme Court of Georgia welcomes the inclusion of the Venice Commission in the process which is of essential importance for the independence of the judiciary. We welcome the fact that the Venice Commission has taken into account the court officials remarks, and indicated in its conclusion that "for the future performance of the judicial power, and when developing organizational issues while using the legislative authority, the parliament should refrain from the measures which would endanger the continuity of the office term of the members of High Council of Justice."

The Venice Commission considers that enactment of the new rules concerning the composition of High Council of Justice should not automatically lead to the termination of office of the previous members of High Council of Justice. According to the opinion of the Venice Commission, enactment of the amendments by the new government or by the parliamentary majority for altering the composition of the High Council of Justice by legislative amendments would create unjustified precedent of infringement of independence of the judiciary.

The Chairman of the Supreme Court of Georgia hopes that the recommendations given in the Venice Commissions report will be accurately reflected in the law. According to Mr. Konstantin Kublashvili, the Court expresses its readiness to continue the cooperation on all important issues with the officials of legislative and executive branches.