President: fair court a precondition for state sustainability
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, March 24
President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili officially presented the new chair of the Supreme Court Nino Gvenetadze on March 23. The president stressed that an unbiased and depolarized court is the major aim of the current Georgian government.
“A fair court is a precondition to the state’s sustainability,” the president said.
“Even in the case of certain political mistakes, if the court is free, the public has a feeling of justice,” Margvelashvili said.
He stressed that a long procedure for selecting and approving the new chairperson served the aim of raising the public’s trust of the court system.
The president also thanked former head of the Supreme Court Kote Kublashvili, who had occupied the post for ten years.
Margvelashvili thanked Kublashvili for his previous efforts in creating a fair court system.
“His being here, despite differences in visions, is symbolic of the country’s democratic advancement,” Margvelashvili said.
Kublashvili stressed that much has been done in the court system in the course of the last twenty years for establishing a court that meets European standards.
“We have come closer to the point, but much is still to be done in the system in order to comprehensively meet these standards.”
“2015 was a very important year and the current head of the Supreme Court faces more challenges than her European counterparts,” Kublashvili said, noting that positive achievements in the system should be preserved.
In her speech, Gvenetadze said that “now Georgia has a historical chance to have a fully unbiased court system and this opportunity must be handled correctly.”
“All the judges should feel free, and should not be influenced by politics,” Gvenetadze said.
Dr. Gvenetadze, 51, was the president’s pick out of 28 nominees submitted to him by various organizations and NGOs.
Parliament confirmed Gvenetadze as the new Chair of the Supreme Court with 88 votes on March 20. She will serve a ten-year term.
The opposition United National Movement did not vote for her. According to them, Gvenetadze was an Eduard Shevardnadze period judge and she was not suitable for the post.
