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JUDICIARY /
Analytical Documents
Another step back in judicial reform - Analysis of legislative changes adopted on December 30, 2021
On December 30, 2021, the Parliament of Georgia, in an expedited manner, at an extraordinary session, without public involvement and consultations, adopted the legislative amendments to the Organic Law of Georgia on Common Courts.[1] Despite calls to the president from the ombudsman[2] and public organizations[3] to veto the changes and criticism of the bill by international actors[4], the president did not exercise his constitutional authority and signed the bill on January 13, 2022.[5]
As a result of the bill, changes were made in the norms regulating such essential issues as:
- Secondment of a judge to another court;
- Electing the same judge twice in a row as a member of the High Council of Justice;
- Disciplinary proceedings;
- The procedure for deciding on the judge's removal from the case.
This document assesses both the legislative package review process as well as the relevance and effectiveness of the changes to the context of the judiciary and analyzes its possible implications.
The full document can be found in the attached file.
Footnote and Bibliography
[1] The draft law adopted on the third hearing is available at: https://bit.ly/3B14r4Q.
[2] The Public Defender Negatively Evaluates the Draft Law on the Judicial System, 30 December 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3guD9KG.
[3] Call to the President to veto the legislative change in the Organic Law on Common Courts, 13 January 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/332U6bY.
[4] Statement by the US Embassy on the hastily enacted legislative changes by the ruling party at the end of the year, 3 January 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3qgO5kK.
[5] Statement by the President of Georgia, 13 January 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3JbBnKQ.
