The signatories respond to the High Council of Justice’s attempt to re-appoint Mikheil Chinchaladze as chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals and call on judges not to support decisions that strengthen governance of the clan in the judiciary.

In the spring of this year, five-year term of several court presidents, including of the chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals Mikheil Chinchaladze has expired. By law, the President of the Court is appointed by the High Council of Justice from among the judges of the same court for a term of 5 years by a reasoned decision. Prior to his appointment as President of the Court, the High Council of Justice shall consult with the judges of the relevant court.

Amid growing criticism of the judiciary locally and internationally, the High Council of Justice appears to be trying to maintain clan rule in the judiciary secretly from the public.  By a unanimous decision, the High Council of Justice temporarily imposed the powers of the Chairmen of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals on the informal leader of the clan Mikheil Chinchaladze. This decision has not been published yet.

Mikheil Chinchaladze has been appointed to the judiciary since 2007, when under the influence of the then Chief Prosecutor, several groups of judges were appointed from the prosecutor’s office to exercise informal control over judges.  In 2016, when Mikheil Chinchaladze was completing his ten-year term as a Supreme Court judge, the Parliament of Georgia returned the completed bill for reconsideration and amended it to accommodate Mikheil Chinchaladze’s indefinite appointment without competition.  Based on this change, he has been a life judge of the Court of Appeals since 2017.

The European Commission’s opinion, published on June 17, 2022 reaffirmed that the lack of independence of the Judiciary is a significant obstacle to Georgia’s existence as a democratic state.  One of the conditions for Georgia’s European integration is ensuring full and true independence, accountability and impartiality of the judiciary in the institutional chain of justice. However, in violation of Georgian law, the Parliament has not yet appointed 5 non-judicial members to the High Council. This means that the society does not participate in the activities of the council and accordingly, any decision made by the High Council of Justice does not meet the standard set by the Constitution. Taking advantage of this situation by the High Council of Justice and extending the term of office for an informal clan leader undermines the country’s European integration process.

In view of the above, we call on the judges of the High Council of Justice and the Court of Appeal:

• Do not support Mikheil Chinchaladze’s candidacy for the position of the Chairman of the Court of Appeals.
• The process of selecting the chairperson should be transparent, inclusive, including public consultations with the judges of the Court of Appeal.

Signatories:

Group of independent lawyers
Democracy Index-Georgia
Democracy Research Institute
Georgian Democratic Initiative
Court Watch
Civic idea
Georgian Reforms Association
European-Georgian Institute