EU re-urges Georgia to pause election of new judges to Supreme Court

The European Union Embassy to Georgia has once again called on the Georgian authorities to pause the election of new judges to the country’s Supreme Court. 

EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell reiterated earlier today that the country must carry out large-scale judiciary reforms first which will ensure positive moves in the Georgian judiciary.  

Hartzell says that the EU representatives will not attend hearings of four candidates for the Georgian Supreme Court in the state legislature today and tomorrow. 

The parliament is authorised to approve new  judges for the Supreme Court, while the candidates are presented by the country’s High Council of Justice, an independent body which selects and appoints judges around the country. 

The Georgian NGOs say that the High Council of Justice is under the influence of a ‘clan of judges,’ and mostly ‘biased’ candidates are selected for the Supreme Court judge. 

The NGOs agree with the international community that the selection and appointment process of judges to the Supreme Court must be paused until the judiciary field is fundamentally reformed.