Supreme Court of Georgia

Statement of the chairperson of Supreme Court regarding the proceedings on the Rustavi metallurgical factory case

Published: 04/14/2015

The dispute started in Tbilisi city court about Rustavi metallurgical factory, continues in the Court of Appeal. Outcome is still pending.

On the basis of Georgian Constitution and Legislation, plaintiffs enjoy the principle of equality before the law, which means that they have equal rights and possibilities to use procedures that are established by procedural law, inter alia to lodge a complaint against a decision.   

Extending a public confidence is a complicated and long-term process that shall be promoted on the one hand by the independence and impartiality of judges, effective and timely proceedings and on the other hand by each member of the society, including national authorities. Confidence in this process is based on the willingness of legislative and executive authorities, which repeatedly declared their readiness to support the independence of the judiciary and non-interference in the proceedings.

Opinions on the current proceedings, on a specific case, expressed by the chiefs of a higher instance courts, as well as opinions expressed by the national authorities, may contain the threat of negative impact on the proceedings.  

The legality of decisions is controlled by the higher instance courts through the appeal procedure. Illegal acts committed by judges during the proceeding are controlled by procedures and rules established by law.

We would like to remind the representatives of public government that the public confidence in the judiciary is based on self-restraint of national authorities and on respect towards the court decisions.