Council of Europe Office in Georgia

The PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Georgia, Titus Corlatean (Romania, SOC) and Claude Kern (France, ALDE), have taken note of the amendments to the law on the Common Courts regarding the process for appointing Supreme Court judges proposed by the ruling majority. “In our previous statements, we have consistently called on the authorities to amend the legal framework for the selection process of Supreme Court judges in line with Venice Commission recommendations in order to address the deficiencies noted in the most recent selection process,” they said.

“We welcome the willingness of the authorities to amend the law on the Common Courts, and emphasise the importance of fully implementing Venice Commission recommendations to ensure public trust in the selection process of Supreme Court judges – and thus, in the end, in the independence and impartiality of this important institution itself. We therefore urge the authorities to request a Venice Commission opinion on the proposed amendments before they are adopted,” said the two co-rapporteurs.