The Judicial Reform Working Group held its 6th meeting in Tbilisi on 13 April 2018 to discuss the 4th wave of judicial reform draft amendments, with Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze in the chair. The goal of the meeting was to present the proposals and suggestions Parliament received regarding judicial disciplinary proceedings and ways to reduce case backlog.
The Working Group members overviewed specific obstacles that may be contributing to courts’ backlog. Chairman of the Parliament Irakli Kobakhidze confirmed the need to elaborate on the reasons of delays, and come up with a strategy of tackling them with a view to eventually agreeing on the respective legislative amendments.
The Group also discussed the draft amendments on disciplinary liability of judges. Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee and the High Council of Justice continue to work on harmonising their respective proposals to achieve a final and consistent document to be sent to the Parliament. Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia Cristian Urse confirmed the organization’s readiness to continue providing expertise to ensure these legislative efforts are in compliance with the Council of Europe standards. The participants agreed to resume their work in the week of 30 April 2018.
The Working Group meeting was co-organised by the Council of Europe “Support to the Judicial Reform Project”, which is funded by voluntary contributions of Bulgaria, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Norway, the Slovak Republic and Sweden to support the implementation of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2016 - 2019.
