Ruling party to withdraw lawsuit after President appoints Davit Bakradze as UN ambassador
By Liza Mchedlidze
Friday, September 2, 2022
The President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili has signed the appointment of Davit Bakradze as ambassador to the UN so that there would be no delay because of her.
Zourabichvili also said that before the official presentation of the ambassadors, the legal texts take into account a confidential consultation with the president, where, according to her, she expressed "a professional position about the activities of Davit Bakradze during 5 years".
"I signed not because someone forced me, or was afraid of something, but because until now, while this consultation form was going and it was completed with submissions, I signed all the submissions so that there would be no delay because of me. My opinions were not heard, there should not be any delay, and what's more, in this case, which concerns - the UN General Assembly is held in three weeks, and it is definitely not in the interests of our country that the full-fledged ambassador of Georgia would not be there, at the moment when very important issues will be discussed". - he said.
According to the President of Georgia, her decision was not perceived by the government as a step taken for depolarization, and today she accepted the presentation of 7 ambassadors without consultation.
"However, I must also point out that this decision of mine, which on the one hand was supposed to contribute to depolarization, was not taken that way, because today - oh, surprisingly, I received 7 submissions, so that not one of those secret parts of the consultation was carried out and put on my table, these 7 submissions, which are a kind of response from the government to my decision and I think it is necessary, can no longer tolerate the situation for the Constitutional Court to consider this issue, to consider the texts, to consider the current practice and the confidential documents that we have and which prove that they have always been Confidential consultations, because the President's signature cannot be just a facsimile, especially in this field, so the Constitutional Council has its say and I am looking forward to it," Zourabichvili said.
On August 31, the President of Georgia signed the appointment of Davit Bakradze as ambassador to the United Nations. However, before that, Zourabichvili said that she signed the appointment of 36 of the 37 ambassadors nominated during his presidency and refused to appoint Davit Bakradze.
On June 6, the government applied to the Constitutional Court for the separation of powers between the president and the government regarding the appointment and dismissal of ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions. The Constitutional Court accepted the lawsuit on June 25.
The Georgian Dream disputes Salome Zourabichvili's lack of action in the process of approving the candidates presented, i.e. the denial of approval. According to Irakli Kobakhidze, the government proposed the candidacy of Davit Bakradze as permanent representative to the United Nations, and Kakha Imnadze to Canada, but the president refused, and the constitutional lawsuit will concern these persons. According to the definition of Georgian Dream, the rejection of ambassador candidates submitted by the government during the past year is against the Constitution of Georgia.
The Chairman of the party Georgian Dream Irakli Kobakhidze spoke to the media regarding the President appointing Davit Bakradze as ambassador to the UN, saying that "It is good that the president has returned to the constitutional framework".
As Kobakhidze mentioned, now it is even logical for the government to withdraw the constitutional lawsuit related to the non-appointment of Davit Bakradze.
"According to the constitution, the president plays only a formal role in the appointment and dismissal of the ambassador. Actually, this principle was respected when Davit Bakradze was appointed to the position of ambassador, which is very good for us. Our task was to protect the constitution and all institutions to operate within the constitutional framework. As for the filing of the lawsuit, which the government has submitted to the Constitutional Court, it is up to the government of Georgia to decide. Based on the fact that the lawsuit is related only to the non-appointment of Davit Bakradze, it may be logical to challenge it, however, the Georgian government is discussing this. If necessary, naturally, I will also be involved in consultations. The main thing for us is that everything has returned to the constitutional framework and in the future the ambassadors will be appointed according to the rules established by the Constitution of Georgia" said Kobakhidze.
Davit Bakradze, who was the ambassador of Georgia to the USA until recently, will replace Kakha Imnadze as the head of the diplomatic mission in the United Nations.
The President of Georgia accepted the nomination of Davit Barkadze as ambassador to the United Nations on July 15, however, Zourabichvili did not sign it. As the president stated in one of the interviews, Bakradze "was the ambassador for 5 years and did nothing".
