New Chairperson of the Supreme Court elected
By Khatia Bzhalava
Friday, March 20
A new Chairwoman of the Supreme Court of Georgia has been elected on March 13th, 2020 . Before the voting, the MPs listened to the speech of Nino Kadagidze at the Legal Issues Committee, where members of the parliament and the representatives of NGOs were able to ask relevant questions to the candidate or Chairperson of the Supreme Court.
In her speech, Nino Kadagidze named developing a legal state established on respecting human rights by the independence of the court and strengthening accountability as her main principle. She also talked about a couple of significant challenges that the court faces today and emphasized the issue of providing independence of the judiciary and protecting it.
“The judge should be protected from the without affecting as well as the possible inner impact from the court. Independence inside the court demands from the judge to be independent while taking a decision, without any references or impacts. A chairperson should be a guarantee of keeping the magistrate safe from any inner or outer pressure,” said Kadagidze in her speech.
Kadagidze also paid attention to improving the infrastructure and the services of the court, raising occupational knowledge of the judges and most of all the necessity of close communication between the court and community, with wide engagement from the media.
“Electing Nino Kadagidze as the chairwoman of the Supreme Court might be assessed as a step forward for institutional independence of the justice system. I wish her huge success, because I believe that her work as a first magistrate will promote the improvement of the court and will be directed towards perfection of the system.” Announced Giorgi Mikautadze, the secretary of Supreme Council of Justice, after the official confirmation of Kadagidze’s position as the chairwoman.
MP Irakli Kobakhidze commented on choosing Kadagadze, noting that choosing a new Chairperson was based on objective criteria such as her qualification and conscientiousness.
He also stated that the opposition’s reaction was predictable for them, explaining that they had known in advance that opposition would have a negative reaction on any candidate the Supreme Council of Justice would introduce to them.
It is noteworthy that the National Movement and the European Georgia did not participate in the voting due to their boycott towards the government. They demand from the ruling party to release political prisoners, including former mayor of Tbilisi Gigi Ugulava.
Votes were unanimous with 82 pros and 0 against.
