A session of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Georgia has been scheduled for April 3. According to the published agenda, the appointment of a judge to the vacant position of a member of the Constitutional Court will be discussed at the session. The appointment of a new member of the Constitutional Court during the state of emergency, when it will be virtually impossible for the public or other stakeholders to exercise control over the process, is inadmissible. In a situation when the Constitutional Court still enjoys the trust of the public and authority, the appointment of a judge under given circumstances and behind closed doors will negatively affect the reputation of both the appointed judge and the Constitutional Court.

We would like to remind the public that the session of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Georgia was initially scheduled for March 31 with the same agenda, but it was later postponed due to technical reasons, according to the relevant statement.

Pursuant to the Constitution of Georgia, 3 out of 9 members of the Constitutional Court shall be appointed by the Supreme Court of Georgia. Constitutional Court Judge Maia Kopaleishvili, whose term of office expired on December 5, 2019, had been appointed by the very quota of the Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court did not appoint a new judge of the Constitutional Court within the timeframe provided by law despite the requirement of law and the demand of the civil society. In view of the above, the appointment of the session off the plenum for the consideration of the above issue during the state of emergency may be motivated not by a desire to prevent delays in the work of the Constitutional Court, but to avoid public oversight of the process.

The signatory organizations call on the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Georgia not to appoint a judge of the Constitutional Court until the state of emergency is not lifted, until the country does not return to its normal rhythm of life and until it is not possible to ensure publicity and transparency of the appointment process or to carry out public control over it.

Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI)

Article 42 of the Constitution

Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF)

Partnership for Human Rights (PHR)

Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI)

Transparency International - Georgia (TI)

Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC)

International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED)

Safari Union

Institute for Democracy and Safe Development (IDSD)

Rehabilitation Initiative for Vulnerable Groups

Tolerance and Diversity Institute (TDI)

Equality Movement

Human Rights Center

Democracy Research Institute (DRI)

Civic Integration Foundation