New rules for electing prosecutor general needed, as office not “at its height” – ex-deputy justice minister

Former Deputy Minister of Justice Aleksandre Baramidze told Front News on Thursday that no one would have demanded amendments in the election procedures of the prosecutor general, if the office had been performing its functions properly, in comments on the passing of the relevant bill with its first reading.  

He suggested that the procedures reflected in the bill were originally included as one of the clauses in the Charles Michel EU-mediated agreement, which put an end to a several-month political crisis in Georgia last year. 

“This is a very important draft law and it is very good that the Georgian Dream ruling party finally understood that this change should be reflected in the constitution, whether they like it or not”, Baramidze said. 

He noted that the changes in the rules for the electing of the prosecutor general had been prompted by the situation in the country over the years. 

“We know that during the Soviet Union, the prosecutor’s office was a tool of the Communist Party. After gaining independence, for all these 30 years, the prosecutor’s office was and remains a tool of the ruling group to suppress political opponents and cover up the corrupt activities of government officials”, Baramidze said. 

The adoption of the bill, which proposes the election of the prosecutor general by 90 votes, needs the support of both the ruling party and the opposition, as at least 113 votes are mandatory in the 150-member state legislature. 

The bill was supported by 126 MPs in its first reading, with the following two readings still ahead. The adoption of the bill is one of the 12 conditions of the European Union for Georgia’s membership candidate status.