Ex-Constitutional Court judge explains why she believed judge should recuse himself from opposition party ban case

Former Georgian Constitutional Court judge Manana Kobakhidze has explained why she believed there were sufficient grounds for concerns about judicial impartiality in a case seeking to ban five opposition parties.

“The claim was filed by members of parliament, the overwhelming majority of whom belong to Georgian Dream, the ruling party, and the party’s founder is hearing the case. Regardless of the oath a judge has taken, are there objective grounds for raising questions? I believe there are,” Kobakhidze said.

She said her assessment was based not only on domestic standards but also on internationally recognised criteria for the objective test of judicial impartiality.

Kobakhidze explained that the judge’s political past, previous legal representation of victims whose cases were cited in documents submitted as evidence, and several heated political debates in which she had directly urged the United National Movement to accept responsibility and leave politics collectively created circumstances that, in her view, required her to recuse herself under the law.

“Under the law, I personally concluded that I should resign from the judicial position,” she said.

Responding to Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s remarks that her political activity 14 years ago and her status as a founder of Georgian Dream were not, in themselves, grounds for resignation, Manana Kobakhidze said these were not the only factors to consider.

She stressed that the circumstances had to be assessed cumulatively, including her advocacy for victims, her participation in heated political debates and her calls for the United National Movement to take responsibility for “systemic violations” and specific crimes and to leave politics.

Taken together, these factors led her to conclude that the law required her to withdraw from the case, she said.

The Constitutional Court is due to begin hearings tomorrow in a lawsuit filed by Georgian Dream seeking to ban five opposition parties.