Georgian Dream Announces Party Loyalist as Nominee for Constitutional Court
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, November 29
(TBILISI) — The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has nominated a staunch party loyalist as its pick to become a Constitutional Court Judge.
Eva Gotsiridze previously led an unsuccessful campaign to be the GD’s representative in the European Court of Human Rights. From 2013-2017, she served as a non-judge member of the High Council of Justice, an independent body created to regulate the judiciary system and to promote the effectiveness and independence of the judiciary.
She gained attention earlier this year for supporting an initiative that would ban public criticism of judges.
The initiative was widely condemned by Georgia’s civil society, who labeled the move as “an attack on the freedom of expression”.
The parliamentary opposition strongly opposed Gotsiridze nomination, saying she was rejected in her bid to join the European Court of Human Rights because the Strasbourg-based body found she was unfit for the job “due to a lack of qualifications”.
The opposition also accused Gotsiridze of being a “devoted supporter” of the Georgian Dream, which they say is a conflict of interest when the main requirement for a constitutional court judge is to be impartial.
All three branches of state powers participate in the formation of the Constitutional Court of eight judges and a chairperson. Three members of the court are appointed by the president, three by parliament and the remaining three are appointed by the Supreme Court.
The court chair is elected for five years and the judges for 10 years.
