Majority Unhappy with President’s Nominee in Justice Council
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, January 10
(KUTAISI, Georgia)--The Georgian Dream (GD) majority and Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze criticized President Giorgi Margvelashvili for appointing his Parliamentary Secretary Anna Dolidze as a member of the High Council of Justice, an independent body responsible for objective judiciary and selection of judges.
Kobakhidze expressed his dislike of the tendency and stated the President used to appoint his employees in independent institutions such as Supreme and Constitutional Courts, as well as High Council of Justice.
Vano Zardiashvili, from the ruling party, said by appointing Dolidze, Margvelashvili “brought politics” to the independent structure.
The President’s administration assessed the GD’s commentary on the fact as “alarming” stating that the President selected people for responsible posts based on their qualifications and skills.
The administration added the Georgian judicial system requires systemic change and persons such as Dolidze, due to her education, can play a progressive role.
The civil sector and the opposition welcomed Dolidze’s new position.
Dolidze is a Doctor of law, a Professor at the University of Western Ontario in the United States and the author of scientific publications in the field of law.
From 2004 to 2006, Dolidze acted as the elected president of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA).
In 2015 she served as a Deputy Defence Minister and in 2016, Dolidze was appointed as the President’s parliamentary secretary. While being on the post, she used to have heated verbal disputes with the majority representatives over Margvelashvili’s remarks on vetoed bills.
The President is authorized to appoint one member in the 15-member High Council of Justice for four years.
Margvelashvili appointed a former head of GYLA Ana Natsvlishvili as his new parliamentary secretary.
