The judicial system has been one of the biggest challenges in Georgia. Multi-wave reforms implemented in the court system have still not managed to achieve their main objective of having justice delivered by independent and impartial judges whose integrity and competence are not in doubt. In response to systemic challenges the judiciary is facing, the NGO Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary was formed in 2011. The goal of the Coalition is to consolidate the efforts of legal professional associations, legal rights NGOs, business associations and media into a joint advocacy for an independent, transparent and accountable justice system. The NGO coalition currently unites 40 members.
In May 2019 the High Council of Justice launched the selection process of Supreme Court judicial candidates to be nominated to the Parliament of Georgia. The process lasted for 4 months and finished in September 2019. While the process was based on legislative amendments adopted by the Parliament of Georgia, the regulatory framework had major drawbacks: it allowed the formation of a list of candidates suiting the interests of the dominant group of judges and the ruling party. Nevertheless, the 20 selected candidates are currently being publicly interviewed by MPs, representatives of the NGO coalition and other important stakeholders.
In support of the selection process, the NGO coalition started a campaign “Make Courts Trustworthy”. The campaign on its Facebook page publishes not only livestreams, but also short videos, phrases, statistics about ongoing selection process. The publicity and transparency of this process deserves a positive assessment, as it is widely accessible and allows the public to create realistic perception of the judiciary. By the end of 2019, after interviews are over the Parliament of Georgia will vote to appoint the judges of the Supreme Court with life tenure.
More information is available here.