The Disciplinary Collegium of Judges may make a decision by two votes

The Disciplinary Panel of Judges of Common Courts is a key element of disciplinary actions against judges: it investigates disciplinary charges against judges of common courts and renders binding decisions.  

How does the stated disciplinary body reach its decision, and to what extent does this process adhere to democratic principles? - This article provides answers to these questions.

Composition and rule for recruiting

The Disciplinary Panel comprises five members: three judges and two non-judge members elected by Parliament.

The Conference of Judges of Georgia elects the judge members of the Panel. Any judge in attendance at the Conference of Judges can suggest a candidate.

The Parliament of Georgia elects the non-judge members not earlier than 30 days before the expiration of the incumbent member's term of office and not later than seven calendar days after the end of their term of office, and not later than one month after the end of the terms of office in the case of early termination of the terms of office.   

Candidates for members of the Disciplinary Panel and the High Council of Justice shall be chosen from professors and researchers working in higher-educational institutions, members of the Georgian Bar Association, or/and persons nominated by Georgian non-profit (non-commercial) legal entities. Each of them is entitled to nominate to the Parliament one person to serve on the Disciplinary Panel. A candidate cannot be a member of Parliament, a judge, or a prosecutor. A Georgian citizen with a higher legal education, at least ten years of work experience in the field of law, who has an immaculate reputation and is a recognized expert in the field of law, may be elected to the Disciplinary Panel. The Parliament elects the members of the Disciplinary Panel with a majority of the votes cast by all of the members. 

Membership of the disciplinary panel is not open to:

• The Chairperson of the Supreme Court, their first deputy or deputy;
• The Chairperson of the court, their first deputy or deputy.
• Chairperson of a panel or chamber.
• A person who has held any of the above positions within the last year;
• A member of the High Council of Justice of Georgia;
• A judge who has been disciplined and fined for a disciplinary misconduct within the last 5 years.

The Chairperson of the Disciplinary Panel shall be elected by the Panel from among the judge members. They will preside over Panel meetings and have other responsibilities.

Decision-making on disciplinary matters

If at least three members of the Disciplinary Panel are present at its meeting, it is competent to consider the case. If the majority of the members present vote in favor of the Disciplinary Panel's decision, it is considered approved. As a result, if three members are present at the meeting, which is the quorum required by the Organic Law for the Disciplinary Panel to discuss a matter, the decision is considered adopted if it is supported by at least its two members, which is less than half of the total composition. As a result, we get a situation where in the disciplinary proceedings against a judge, the decision is made by two members. For example, the judge's action shall be acknowledged as disciplinary misconduct, a disciplinary penalty - a fine shall be imposed, or the judge shall be acquitted if less than half of the Panel's complete composition so decides.

Disciplinary procedures against a judge are a legal instrument that, in the absence of competent legal regulation and proper legal safeguards, can easily become a lever to influence the independence of a particular judge. To avoid abusing the procedure of disciplinary accountability, the decisions of all authorized entities engaged in the process must have a high degree of legitimacy and are adequately reasoned, among other safeguards. In the case of a collegial body, the decision should be made with the greatest possible inclusion. This concept is ignored in the instance of Georgia's Disciplinary Panel of common courts.

Appeal of the decision of the Disciplinary Panel

An appeal against a decision of the Disciplinary Panel is heard by the Supreme Court's Disciplinary Chamber. The Disciplinary Chamber is made up of three members chosen by the Plenum of the Supreme Court from among the Supreme Court's judges, and it makes decisions by majority vote.

• The Disciplinary Chamber has the authority to make the following decisions:
• Uphold the decision of the Disciplinary Panel (on the decision provided for in article 75⁴¹(1)(b) to (e) of the Organic Law);
• Amend the decision of the Disciplinary Panel (on the decision provided for in subparagraphs “c” and “d” of Article 75⁴¹(1) of the Organic Law);
• Overrule the decision of the Disciplinary Panel and adopt a new decision (on the decision provided for in subparagraphs (b) to (e) of Article 75⁴¹(1) of the Organic Law);
• Overrule of the decision of the Disciplinary Panel and remand of the case.

The Disciplinary Panel will also take part in the process of recusing a district (city) or appellate court judge. To make a decision on this matter, the High Council of Justice of Georgia shall refer it to it on the basis of a reasoned motion of an Independent Inspector, if:

a) A criminal case has been initiated against a judge.  
b) Disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against a judge of a district (city) or appellate court following Article 75⁸(1) of the law “on Common Courts,” and there is a reasonable assumption that the judge will avoid disciplinary proceedings and/or compensation for losses caused by disciplinary misconduct and/or continuing to violate labor discipline by remaining in the respective position. 

Following the organic law, the Disciplinary Panel of Judges of Common Courts of Georgia shall review the submission of the High Council of Justice of Georgia within five working days after receiving the request. As a result, the Disciplinary Panel's decision-making rule outlined above will also apply in this case. 

Although the decision of the Disciplinary Panel is not final and can be amended or overturned by the decision of the Chamber of the Supreme Court, the Disciplinary Panel remains the key body in disciplinary matters whose conclusions are binding. Therefore, the low quota required for its decisions allows two members to decide on a judge's disciplinary liability, resulting, in some cases, even in the judge's dismissal.  

The decision-making procedure cannot answer the questions of how a decision made by such a small group can express the will of a collegial body and how a judge's independence can be guaranteed when the most important decision for justices can be made by two people.  

At the same time, it should be emphasized that the Disciplinary Panel of Judges of Common Courts of Georgia now has only three judge members (Merab Lomidze, Teia Leonidze, and Giorgi Goginashvili), and the Georgian Parliament has not yet elected non-judge members.

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