President Names His Parliamentary Secretary as Member of Justice Council
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, January 9
(TBILISI)-- President Giorgi Margvelashvili has nominated his parliamentary Secretary Anna Dolidze as a new member of the High Council of Justice of Georgia.
Dolidze will replace Vakhtang Mchedlishvili, whose 4-year term expires on January 16.
Both Mchedlishvili and Dolidze frequently criticized the High Council of Justice, the body responsible for appointing judges, and spoke about a range of drawbacks, including technical shortcomings and wrong management.
On January 8, Margvelashvili stated at a press conference that Georgia is in need of a trustworthy judicial system. The President said people have been waiting for better judiciary since 2012, when they voted for the Georgian Dream (GD) government, replacing the nine-year rule of the United National Movement (UNM).
“The system still requires a thorough reform,” Margvelashvili said.
Dolidze pointed out the problems in the justice system and stated she will take steps to make the council more transparent and open to public, with timely and grounded decisions.
Dolidze, who has received education abroad and is a representative of the president in the legislative body, is frequently observed to be involved in debates with the GD majority lawmakers.
From 2004 to 2006,Dolidze was an elected president of one of Georgia’s top non-governmental organisations, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA).
In 2015 she served as a deputy defence minister.
She is a Doctor of law, a Professor at the University of Western Ontario in the United States and the author of many scientific publications in the field of law.
Margvelashvili appointed her as his representative in Parliament in summer 2016.
The High Council of Justice saw changes in 2013 as both the ruling party and the opposition spoke about the importance of changes into the independent body.
In the wake of the most recent amendments, the High Council of Justice consists of 15 members. Eight of them are elected by a self-governing body of Judges, five -by the Parliament and one member is appointed by the President. Chairperson of the High Council of Justice is a head of the Supreme Court Nino Gvenetadze, a member of High Council of Justice ex officio.
