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2007 Assessment

Georgia: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Georgia: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Judicial Accountability
Indicators		Score
33	Are judges appointed fairly?	50
34	Can members of the judiciary be held accountable for their actions?	54
35	Are there regulations governing conflicts of interest for the national-level judiciary?	29
36	Can citizens access the asset disclosure records of members of the national-level judiciary?	83

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are judges appointed fairly?

33a: In law, there is a transparent procedure for selecting national-level judges.

Score:

YES

Comments: Only one time the Supreme Court judge nominations were posted on web a couple of days ahead of the appointments, and even this had more of a PR function. There are certain procedures envisioned for the High School of Justice whereby the School would implement a more vigorous selection process but those procedures are just now beginning. The current process revolves around unstructured interviews that lack explicit criteria for determining who is to be selected a judge.

References: Law on Common Courts, arts. 47, 48 There is no regulation and procedure for public oversight in the process.

Peer Review Comments: The Law on the High School of Justice makes it clearer how judges will be appointed. The High School of Justice will receive its first class of candidates this fall. They will be eligible for appointment to the bench after they successfully complete the 14-month judicial training period and pass the interview at the High Council of Justice (HCOJ).

However, it should be noted that apart from what goes on during the interview at the HCOJ, the criteria for appointment are clearly articulated in the legislation.

Peer Review Comments: I believe that there is a well-structured procedure in place. Whether or not this procedure is followed n practice is a whole different question.

33b: In practice, there are certain professional criteria required for the selection of national-level judges.

Score:

100

Comments: Due to constitutional changes in 2005, the qualifying age for Supreme Court and common court judges has been lowered to 30 and 28, respectively. It automatically brought the reduction of all requirements for high qualification and experience.

References: Debates have been occupying Georgian media during discussions of constitutional amendments. See reports at: www.gyla.ge; www.civil.ge

Peer Review Comments: The lowering of the qualifying age does not mean that it automatically brought about the reduction of all requirements for high qualification and experience. Judges now need to have a higher level of legal education, plus 14-month judicial training at the High School of Justice, plus 5 years of work experience. This is more than was required of a judge when the age requirement was 30. Judges still have to take and pass judicial qualification examinations, which have gotten tougher over the years. These exams have around a 15 to 20 percent pass rate.

See the Law on the High School of Justice, Constitution of Georgia, the Laws on Common Courts and the Supreme Court.

Peer Review Comments: There are two important criteria - they all have to have a law degree and pass the qualification exams.

33c: In law, there is a confirmation process for national-level judges (i.e. conducted by the legislature or an independent body).

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Consitution of Georgia Law on Supreme Court Supreme Court judges have to be confirmed by the Parliament.

Peer Review Comments: See also the Law on the Constitutional Court.

Judges serving in first and second instance courts are appointed by the High Council of Justice.

Can members of the judiciary be held accountable for their actions?

34a: In law, members of the national-level judiciary are obliged to give reasons for their decisions.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on Constitutional Court Procedure Civil Procedures Code Criminal Procedures Code Administrative Procedures Code

34b: In practice, members of the national-level judiciary give reasons for their decisions.

Score:

100

Comments: Unfortunately unreasoned, non-argumented judgements are still common for Georgian judiciary, especially at the first level of hearings.

References: See report of the US State Department from 2006 Report on nature of Georgian justice system at www.gyla.ge

34c: In law, there is a disciplinary agency (or equivalent mechanism) for the national-level judicial system.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law of Common Courts; Law on Disciplinary Responsibility and Discipilnary Procedure of the Judges of Common Courts;

34d: In law, the judicial disciplinary agency (or equivalent mechanism) is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments: Half of the members of the Disciplinary Colleguim are not judges, but even those who are judges are appointed by the chairman of the Supreme Court (they need only approval of the Judges Conference) and are not selected in a fair manner by the judges' conference.

References: Law of Common Courts; Law on Disciplinary Responsibility and Discipliary Procedure of the Judges of Common Courts; art.24

Peer Review Comments: More than half of the members of HCOJ are judges. Judges are represented on all disciplinary panels and the final review is done at the Supreme Court.

34e: In practice, when necessary, the judicial disciplinary agency (or equivalent mechanism) initiates investigations.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: The judicial disciplinary agency (or equivalent mechanism) aggressively starts investigations -- or participates fully with cooperating agencies\' investigations -- into judicial misconduct. The judicial disciplinary agency (or equivalent mechanism) is fair in its application of this power. <p>50 Score Criteria: The judicial disciplinary agency (or equivalent mechanism) will start or cooperate in investigations, but often relies on external pressure to set priorities, or has limited effectiveness when investigating. The judicial disciplinary agency (or equivalent mechanism), though limited in effectiveness, is still fair in its application of power. <p>0 Score Criteria: The judicial disciplinary agency (or equivalent mechanism) rarely investigates on its own or cooperates in other agencies\' investigations, or the judicial disciplinary agency (or equivalent mechanism) is partisan in its application of this power.$

Comments: The procedure is highly politicized, and in some cases it carries the danger of revenge.

References: see report of the Venice Commission for Democracy through Law on The Law of Georgia on Disciplinary Procedure, March, 2007;

See report of the Public Defender of Georgia from 2006 and first half of 2007: www.civil.ge, from December, 2005;

See also, UN Committee against torture: [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: Yet, the reporter's comments do not deny that these investigations take place.

Peer Review Comments: Based on the SC statistics (see 2006 issue), there are cases that have been initiated based on citizen complaints.

Peer Review Comments: I agree with the point that in some cases there is the danger these investigations may constitute revenge against judges, but there are cases where judicial disciplinary agency investigations have exposed unprofessional decisions made by judges or incidents of corruption.

34f: In practice, when necessary, the judicial disciplinary agency (or equivalent mechanism) imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: They use all power mostly in politically motivated cases, or when it is neccessary for punishing "disobedient" judges.

References: see report of the Venice Commission for Democracy Through Law on the Law of Georgia on Disciplinary Procedure, March, 2007;

See report of the Public Defender of Georgia from 2006 and first half of 2007 www.civil.ge, from December, 2005

Are there regulations governing conflicts of interest for the national-level judiciary?

35a: In law, members of the national-level judiciary are required to file an asset disclosure form.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on Conflict of Interests and Corruption

35b: In law, there are regulations governing gifts and hospitality offered to members of the national-level judiciary.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on Conflict of Interest and Corruption Criminal Code of Georgia, art.340

35c: In law, there are requirements for the independent auditing of the asset disclosure forms of members of the national-level judiciary.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: No regulation exists.

35d: In law, there are restrictions for national-level judges entering the private sector after leaving the government.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: No regulation exists.

35e: In practice, the regulations restricting post-government private sector employment for national-level judges are effective.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: No regulations exist.

35f: In practice, the regulations governing gifts and hospitality offered to members of the national-level judiciary are effective.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: This is not effective as there is no monitoring or regulation for audit.

35g: In practice, national-level judiciary asset disclosures are audited.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: There have been no reports as there are no legal requirements.

Can citizens access the asset disclosure records of members of the national-level judiciary?

36a: In law, citizens can access the asset disclosure records of members of the national-level judiciary.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: General Administrative Code of Georgia, Chapter 3, Freedom of Information

36b: In practice, citizens can access judicial asset disclosure records within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: It takes form 10 days to a month to get the requested information. There have been no reports on delays and any particular problems.

References: There have been no media reports on violation of procedure.

Peer Review Comments: I believe that 10 days to a month is a reasonable time period.

36c: In practice, citizens can access judicial asset disclosure records at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: One pays only for photocopying.

References: There have been no reports of abuse of legal procedure.