Why the same person is appointed to the position of deputy chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals

One of the appellate court judges may be appointed as the deputy chairperson of the court of Appeal, for which the judge must apply with the High Council of Justice. The term of office of the deputy chairperson of the court of Appeals is 5 years, appointed by the High Council of justice with a reasoned decision.

What powers does the deputy chairman of the court of Appeals have?

• Participates in the discussion of cases;
• According to the instruction of the chairperson of the court of Appeals, they supervise the work of the court apparatus;
• The chairperson of the court submits proposals for imposing disciplinary liability on the officials of the court apparatus for gross violation of internal labor regulations or other disciplinary misconduct;
• According to the instruction of the chairperson of the court, they address relevant measures for the organizational provision of Justice;
• According to the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia, they provide a generalization of citizens' applications, complaints, and proposals and submit generalization materials to the chairperson of the court of Appeals;
• In the case provided for by this law, they perform the duties of the chairman of the court of Appeals;
• Exercises other powers provided for by the legislation of Georgia.¹

It is worth asking, whose authority can be entrusted to them?

In case of temporary absence of the chairperson of the court of appeal, their duties shall be performed by their deputy.

Who can be entrusted with the authority of the chairperson of the court of Appeal?

In case of temporary absence of the deputy chairperson of the court of appeal, the chairperson of one of the chambers of the court of Appeal or the Investigative Panel shall perform his / her duties under the instruction of the chairperson of the court of Appeal.

The list provides the basis for the conclusion that organic law opens up a wide area for the deputy chairman of the court of Appeals and gives them considerable authority. In some cases, their powers are equated with those of the chairperson of the court of Appeal; however, it should be noted that, unlike the chairperson, the appointment of the deputy chairperson is not preceded by an obligation provided for by law, such as consultations with the judges of the respective court.²

According to organic law, the deputy chairman of the court of Appeals is at the same time a member of one of the chambers/investigative collegiums of the court. He may be the chairman of one of the chambers/investigative collegiums of the court.³

Deputy chairs of the courts of Appeal

Kutaisi Appeal Court

The only decision on the appointment of the deputy chairman of the Kutaisi Court of Appeals, which was made on August 2008, 11, is found on the website of the High Council of Justice. In particular, Malkhaz Okropirashvili was appointed as the deputy chairman of the court of Appeal (11.08.2008), since then the deputy chairman of the court has either not been set or the decision has not been published on the official website of the council.

The argument of Nikoloz Marsagishvili, Secretary of the High Council of Justice of Georgia, when nominating Irakli Shengelia, was that he had previously worked in this position and had sufficient experience. And why Shengelia resigned himself, if a year later he again submitted to the council an application for appointment as deputy chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals, is an unanswered question. Besides, he served as deputy chairman for 1 year.

Tbilisi Court of Appeals

Since 2017, Irakli Shengelia has been acting as the deputy chairman of the court of Appeals almost continuously.

• The 2017 year

From October 3, 2017 Irakli Shengelia was assigned to exercise the authority of the deputy chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals. The chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals was Mikheil Chinchaladze.

• The 2019 year

From August 19, Irakli Shengelia was appointed as a deputy chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals for a 5-year term.

• The 2021 year

Even though he was appointed to this position for 5 years, in April 2021 Irakli Shengelia resigned based on a personal statement.

• The 2021 year

Attention is drawn to the fact that in two months – from July 2021, 16, Irakli Shengelia again became the acting deputy chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals.

• The 2022 year

A year later, on July 2022, 22, Irakli Shengelia was again appointed as the deputy chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals for a term of 5 years. It is also noteworthy that Irakli Shengelia was the only candidate for deputy chairman. Notably, Irakli Shengelia's appointment as the deputy was preceded by the appointment of Mikheil Chinchaladze by the High Council of Justice (June 2022, 27) as the chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals.

The argument of Nikoloz Marsagishvili, Secretary of the High Council of Justice of Georgia when nominating Irakli Shengelia was that he had previously worked for this position and had sufficient experience. And why Shengelia resigned, if a year later he still submitted to the council an application for appointment of the deputy chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals, is an unanswered question.  Moreover, under the conditions that during this 1 year, he served as deputy chairman.

Based on the available data, it is clear that in all cases when Mikheil Chinchaladze was appointed as the chairman of the Tbilisi Court of appeals, his deputy was/is Irakli Shengelia.

The fact that in recent years Irakli Shengelia is constantly deputy chairman or acting deputy chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals, and it is obvious that his deputy is related to the chairmanship of Mikheil Chinchaladze, raises questions. It is interesting that during the years when the appointment of the deputy chairman of the court of Appeals was decided, Irakli Shengelia had no competition, not to mention his unanimous appointment by the Council of Justice.

Finally, the position of the Council of Justice of Georgia on the appointment of the deputy chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals is limited to the fact that the court is constantly jam-packed and leaving the position of the deputy chairman of the court openly, taking into account its importance, negatively affects the work of the court. Since no other judge has applied for this position, the High Council of Justice assures us that there is no choice left to find a way out of this situation or not to appoint Irakli Shengelia.


Footnotes

1. Organic Law of Georgia "on common courts", Article 26.
2. Organic Law of Georgia "on common courts", Article 23, paragraph 6.
3. Organic Law of Georgia "on common courts", Article 26, paragraph 3.

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