Levan Murusidze and Dimitri Gvritishvili, two controversial judges and leaders of what is widely viewed as a government-linked “clan” of judges have been elected by the majority to the High Council of Justice of Georgia.
Their election comes amid a surprise resignation of the Council’s two members.
It is feared the move will further strengthen Georgian Dream’s already strong grip on Georgia’s judiciary.
Georgia’s civil society has been particularly critical of both the two judges as well as the politization of the judicial system.
“Names of Murusidze and Gvritishvili are directly associated with informal influences and clan-based governance in the judicial system,” Coalition for Independent and Transparent Judiciary, a conglomerate of NGOs working in the field of judiciary said in a statement.
US ambassador Kelly Degnan in her comments called for greater civil society and opposition involvement “I would hope that Judicial reform that is undertaken addresses some of the real challenges that are facing the courts,” she added.
Opposition politicians have said the two judges election signals the Government’s determination to ignore the European Commission’s 12 recommendations – one of which demands progress on judicial independence – for obtaining the EU candidacy status.
დახურვა