How should the court strategy and action plan be written?!

To become a candidate for EU membership, Georgia must "adopt and implement a transparent and effective judicial reform strategy and a further action plan for 2021 based on a broad, inclusive and multi-party consultation process." As a result of this process, the European Commission can provide a "truly and fully independent, accountable and impartial judicial system".

The Parliament of Georgia has established a working group to implement this recommendation, in which they limited the participation of non-governmental sector representatives.

The recommendation of the European Commission implies the adoption of a comprehensive document, in the process of preparation in which all actors are involved. The fact that the doors of the Working Group were closed to the civil sector and the process failed to meet the key requirement of inclusivity reduces public expectations for its transparency and effectiveness.

In this article, as a good practice, we share information about the process of preparation of the first strategy of the judicial system to give readers an idea of how the process of implementation of the above-mentioned recommendation of the European Commission could be organized.

The basis for developing the strategy for 2017-2021

The system of common courts approved the first strategy and action plan in 2017 on May 29 by the decision of the High Council of Justice. The strategy represented a five-year vision for the development of the judicial system and the action plan included two years for its implementation. The development of the strategy was a long and labor-intensive process, which began in 2016 and lasted for about a year.

The obligation to prepare the justice strategy was derived from the association agreement concluded between Georgia and the European Union in 2014. The 2014-2016 agenda for the implementation of the association agreement defined, among other priorities, "the development of a judicial reform strategy and action plan with clear goals and priorities, which should include a policy of appointment and retraining of judges and appropriate resources to ensure the competence of judicial officers.“

In 2016, by the decision of May 23, #1/136, the High Council of Justice established a committee to develop the judicial strategy and action plan. In this regard, the process became inclusive and brought together key actors of the justice sector. Along with the representatives from the Judicial system, the committee was composed of the representatives of the Parliament of Georgia, the president of Georgia, the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, the chief prosecutor's office, the Georgian Advocate Association, Legal Aid Service, "unity of judges", civil society coalition "independent and transparent judiciary".International organizations played a special role in the preparation of the strategy. In addition to the fact that their representatives were part of the committee, they financially ensured the convening of experts and the holding of working meetings. Later, the Council of Justice expanded the composition of the committee and other representatives of civil society joined it.

The activity of committee was headed by the chairperson of the Supreme Court Nino Gvenetadze. In her absence, the secretary of the High Council of justice could perform her duties.

Strategy working groups

Working groups were formed in four strategic directions to facilitate the effectiveness of the committee activities:

• Independence and impartiality;
• Accountability;
• Quality and efficiency;
• Accessibility, transparency, and credibility.

About 50 interviews were conducted with representatives of the judiciary and other related actors, online surveys of judges, court officials, and employees of the Council of Justice, analysis of international and regional documents and best practices, analysis of national strategies, action plans, reports and recommendations of local NGOs were prepared. The strategy committee held 5 general meetings and 6-8 working meetings were held within each working group.

The chairman of the High Council of Justice presented the draft strategy document to the judges at the conference of judges. They discussed the document in 2017 on April 10. On May 23 of the same year, the High Council of Justice approved the justice strategy and action plan.

The “failure” of the 2017-2021 strategy implementation process

In the 2017 report on the implementation of the association agreement between Georgia and the European Union, the European Commission assessed the judicial system strategy as a comprehensive document and emphasized the special importance of civil society involvement in its preparation.

According to the decisions of the High Council of Justice, working groups implementing the strategy were formed, which did not include representatives of civil society. They had the opportunity to participate only in public meetings. By the decision of the council, the Working Group meetings were held mainly in a closed format.

Initially, by the decision of the Council of 2017 November 20, it was supposed to hear reports on the implementation of the strategy twice a year (in December and July). Later, the council changed the rule and, by the decision of June 2018, 18, determined the obligation to hear the report once a year - in June.

The council only once prepared a progress report on the implementation of the justice strategy, which covered the situation between June 2017 and June 2018. Its presentation in 2018 was held on July 25 with the participation of the general public.

Civil society members presented shadow reports on the implementation of the justice strategy. According to the report of" the Social Justice Center "(EMC) and" the Institute for development of freedom of information " (IDFI), the implementation process of the strategy was critically evaluated in 2020. According to their assessment, out of 92 activities of the 2017-2018 Action Plan, 31 were partially implemented and 26 activities remained unfulfilled.

In the following years, the council has not elaborated on the action plans for the 2019-2021 implementation of the strategy and has not approved it at the council meeting. Also, no progress report has been prepared on the measures implemented in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Demand for inclusivity in the post-2021 strategy

The EU-Georgia Association agenda action plan, prepared for 2021-2027, envisages the implementation of judicial reform. According to the document, "Georgia will implement further judicial reform, including as a priority of the High Council of justice, and adopt an ambitious post-2021 judicial reform strategy through a broadly inclusive and multi-party reform process, including the assessment of the effectiveness of the third and fourth waves." Logically, the recommendation submitted to us by the European Commission on June 2022, 17, on reforming the judicial system repeats this content to some extent. The European Commission directly requires the process of developing a new strategy to be inclusive and involve all interested actors.
The implementation of the reform with the participation of civil society is one of the determining factors for our Western partners; for example, to obtain the status of a candidate for eastern and Central European countries, the Council of Europe document was prepared, which assessed the degree of rule of law and democracy in the country. A separate place in the document was given to the description and analysis of the positions of non-governmental organizations and to what extent they agreed with the reforms carried out in the field of Justice.

In addition to the fact that the European Commission emphasizes the need for inclusivity of the process in the formulation of the reform strategy and action plan, it also sets as a separate point the following recommendation - ensuring the involvement of civil society at all stages of the decision - making process."The latter is one of the 12 independent recommendations that apply to all others.

In addition to the fact that the European Commission emphasizes the need for inclusivity of the process in the formulation of the reform strategy and action plan, it also sets as a separate point the following recommendation - ensuring the involvement of civil society at all stages of the decision - making process."The latter is one of the 12 independent recommendations that apply to all others.

Such EU priority is predictable and consistent. Such is the foundation of the implementation of democracy and the proper functioning of state institutions - civil society participates in the decision-making process by the government and the government is accountable to the society.

Even though in 2017 different parties were involved in the development of the judicial system strategy and the process was representative, the action plan remained unrealized.

In these conditions, what are the expectations of the implementation of the strategy developed by the parliament as a result of the closed process, not to mention its content and issues that do not adequately respond to the challenges in the court. The Court Watch will devote a separate article to the strategy prepared by the parliament.

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