The International Chamber of Commerce-Georgia filed an official claim at the High Council of Justice against Tbilisi City Court Judge Vladimir Kakabadze
Monday,
In its claim ICC-Georgia details all the irregularities committed by Judge Kakabadze against three ICC members, Terabank, Phillip Morris International and British American Tobacco.
Those irregularities have caused the three foreign companies a cumulative prejudice of about 150 million USD.
In its claim the International Chamber of Commerce has requested the following:
1. To take disciplinary measures against Judge Kakabadze and suspend his salary.
2. To study the cases of the three damaged companies and the way the legal process was handled by Judge Kakabadze.
3. To investigate why those three cases that were initially sent to different judges were all transferred to Judge Kakabadze and who was the person who ordered this transfer.
4. To investigate all the trips that Judge Kakabadze took outside Georgia in the past two years.
5. To ensure the immediate transfer of Terabank case to a trusted judge.
The International Chamber of Commerce expresses it deepest concerns regarding the actions of Judge Kakabadze and will be following very closely the investigation by the High Council of Justice.
“ICC will be following very closely the investigation of the High Council of Justice, we sincerely hope that the High Council of Justice will perform its duties diligently. ICC expresses its full support to the government of Georgia under the leadership of Prime Minister Kvirikashvili and considers that the actions of Judge Kakabadze have not only harmed major investors and weakened the investment climate but have as well seriously harmed and in the first place the hard work of the government.” said Fady Asly Chairman of ICC-Georgia.
ICC Georgia is the largest and most vocal global Business Association in the country; it includes over 350 corporate and youth members and 28 business associations. The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest business organization in the world that includes over 6.5 million businesses and chambers of commerce. ICC is a permanent observer member of the United Nations and consults regularly at the global level with the G8, G20, the World Bank, WTO and WCO.