What issues were discussed in July by the High Council of Justice?

Key Findings

• The High Council of Justice made all decisions unanimously, and there were no dissenting opinions or questions, even though the High Council of Justice already has non-judge members; the issue of appointing an independent inspector was decided unanimously;

• The High Council of Justice failed to provide notice on the website of the session's delay promptly;

• In contravention of the organic law, information regarding the appointment of some sessions was released one working day in advance rather than three working days beforehand. 

July 4, 2023

The meeting was originally planned for June 21, but it was moved to July 4. At the session, the issues were discussed for a total of two hours and forty minutes.

Nino Kadagidze, the Chairperson of the High Council of Justice and the Supreme Court, and Levan Murusidze, a judge member of the High Council of Justice, were not present at the meeting.

Agenda: 

1. The letter from the chairperson of the LEPL Department of Common Courts;
2. Regarding the powers of some judges;
3. Statement of Judge G. Gelashvili;
4. Regarding amending some normative acts;
5. On determining the composition of chambers/panels in some district (city)/appellate courts;
6. Regarding the admission of candidates for the post of independent inspector to the second round of the competition;
7. Organizational issues related to Article 37 of the Organic Law of Georgia "On Common Courts;"
8. Organizational issues.

Main issues addressed during the session/decisions:

• The letter from the Chairperson of the LEPL Department of Common Courts concerned the issue of allocating funds for the purchase of a coffee maker for the Tbilisi City Court.
• Judge Ketevan Luashvili's judge powers were terminated due to her reaching retirement age;
• The statement of Judge G. Gelashvili concerned the issue of allocating money for the apartment rent in Tbilisi;
• "Concerning the amendment of certain normative acts," the fourth topic, was postponed without an explanation;
• The fifth topic on the agenda—" On determining the composition of chambers/panels in some district (city)/appellate courts"—was withdrawn without explaining;
• At the High Council of Justice meeting, the applications' and supporting documentation's compliance with the independent inspector's job requirements were also examined. As discovered during the session, only nine out of the thirty-two candidate statements and the attached documentation complied with the required standards;
• The session also discussed the issue of appointing a judge as a judge of another court without competition following Article 37 of the Organic Law "On Common Courts."
  
  1. Tatia Gogolauri, the judge of the Criminal Cases Panel of Kutaisi City court, applied for a transfer to the Kutaisi Appeal Court; 
  2. Batumi City Court magistrate judge, Giorgi Lobzhanidze, applied for a transfer to Tbilisi and Kutaisi Courts of Appeals;
  3. Arsen Kalatozishvili, the judge of the Investigation and Pre-Trial Panel of the Tbilisi City Court, applied for a transfer to the Investigation Panel of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals;
  4. Maya Kvirikashvili, judge of Tbilisi City Court's Investigation, Pre-Trial, and Substantive Review Panel of Criminal Cases applied for a transfer to the Investigation Panel of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals and the Chamber of Criminal Cases of the same court;
  5. Nugzar Mgeladze, Khelvachauri District Court magistrate judge, applied for a transfer to the Civil Cases Panel of Batumi City Court;
  6. Manuchar Tsatsua, judge of the Administrative Cases Panel of the Tbilisi City Court, applied for a transfer to the Chamber of Administrative Cases of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals;
  7. Nino Chakhnashvili, judge of the Investigation, Pre-Trial, and Substantive Review Panel of the Tbilisi City Court, applied for a transfer to the Chamber of Criminal Cases of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals;
  8. Giorgi Bukhrashvili, chairperson of the Sighnaghi district court, applied for a transfer to the Chambers of Administrative, Civil, and Criminal Cases of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals;
  9. Ana Chogovadze, judge of the Civil Cases Panel of the Tbilisi City Court, applied for a transfer to the Chamber of Civil Cases of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals;
  10. Maia Kokiashvili, the judge of Investigation, Pre-Trial, and Substantive Review Panel of Criminal Cases of Tbilisi City Court, applied for a transfer to Tbilisi Court of Appeals;
  11. Nino Oniani, the judge of the Administrative Cases Panel of the Rustavi City Court applied for a transfer to the Chamber of Administrative Cases of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals.
• The discussion of the eighth issue was postponed without an explanation.

July 10, 2023

Agenda:

1. The letter from the Chairperson of the LEPL Department of Common Courts;
2. Regarding amending some normative acts;
3. On determining the composition of chambers/panels in some district (city)/appellate courts;
4. Organizational issues.

Main issues addressed during the session/decisions:

After all of the observers had left the Council, the meeting, which was supposed to begin at 17:00 on July 10, started at about 21:00. The problem lies in the High Council of Justice's selective approach and the fact that rulings are not posted on the website on time, making the issue of publicizing its decisions problematic.[TC1]  Moreover, the minutes of the 2023 session (which were in audio file format) were not made public by the High Council of Justice. Accordingly, the concerned party can get information about the sessions of the Council of Justice either by attending the session or by requesting public information. 

We do not know the details of the major issues discussed at the meeting or the decision taken by the council members because we were unable to attend and the session minutes and decision have not been made public.

July 12, 2023

A total of ten minutes were devoted to the discussion of issues at the session.

Nino Kadagidze, the Chairperson of the Hight Council of Justice and Supreme Court, and Levan Murusidze, Tamar Gvamichava, and Levan Mikaberidze, the judge members of the High Council of Justice, were not present at the meeting.

Agenda: 

1. Letter from the director of LEPL Agency For State Care And Assistance For the Victims of Human Trafficking;
2. The organizational issues concerning the judges’ qualification exam;
3. Organizational issues related to Article 37 of the Organic Law of Georgia "On Common Courts;"
4. Regarding amending some normative acts;
5. On determining the composition of chambers/panels in some district (city)/appellate courts;
6. Organizational issues.

Main issues addressed during the session/decisions:

• The first issue concerned the participation of the social worker in the matter of separation of the child from the family. According to the Code on the Rights of the Child, any person responsible for the care or protection of children shall conform to the standards established by relevant law. The trial courts denied the social workers' motion on the grounds that they failed to conform to the standards of the appropriate specialization. For this reason, the Agency For State Care And Assistance For the Victims of Human Trafficking filed an appeal with the High Council of Justice, requesting that the courts grant the social workers' motion. In this context, Badri Shonia clarified that the court was made fully aware of the contents of the letter, that the panels deliberated on the matter, and that the court rendered an opinion that as the agency has an exclusive authority to decide on such issues, its representatives shouldn't be requested the specialization as a prerequisite. Badri Shonia claimed that since the matter was discussed with coworkers in the appeals court, it was no longer an issue.
• The second issue concerned the judges’ qualification exams, scheduled for September. The first stage (test exam) of the judges' qualification exams will be held on September 17, 2023, and the second stage (written exam) will be held on September 24, 2023. Registration for admission to the exam is possible from August 24 to September 7, 2023;
• The session did not address other topics that were on the agenda. 

July 21, 2023

Issues were discussed at the session for a total of thirteen minutes.

The session was attended by every member of the High Council of Justice.

Agenda:

1. The issue concerning the High School of Justice;
2. Regarding amending some normative acts;
3. The draft decree revising Decree 1/3 as of January 16, 2023, of the High Council of Justice of Georgia "On approval of the structure of the appeal courts of the cities of Tbilisi and Kutaisi, district (city) courts, staff list, and the official salaries of employees."
4. Organizational issues.

Main issues addressed during the session/decisions:

• The first issue concerned applying to the High School of Justice and determining the number of trainees by 2024. As Nikoloz Marsagishvili indicated, there will be roughly 110 openings in the court system by the end of 2024, so it will be essential to admit trainees to the school in 2024 as well. Thus, according to the law, the number of trainees in the school by 2024 was determined as 132 persons. The decision was taken unanimously.
• The second issue was withdrawn from the agenda without explanation.
• The third matter concerned the issue of equating the remuneration of district court staff with Tbilisi City Court staff remuneration. The salaries in the Tbilisi court are higher due to a different coefficient, according to Nikoloz Marsagishvili. The Chairperson and members of the High Council, including Dimitri Gvritishvili, noted that the High Council of Justice has long desired to equalize the salaries and that since the budget permits it, they take pleasure in making this decision. The staff document was also amended, and one specialist was added to administrative cases at the Tbilisi Court of Appeals.
• The fourth issue was withdrawn from the agenda without explanation.

July 27, 2023

The session was initially scheduled for 26 June but was postponed and held on 27 July. A total of 13 minutes was allocated for issues discussion.

Chairperson of the High Council of Justice and Supreme Court Nino Kadagidze and judge-member of the High Council of Justice Temur Gogokhia were absent at the sitting.

Agenda:

1. Letter from the Head of the Service Support Division of the Local Councils of the Special Penitentiary Service of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia;
2. Regarding amending some normative acts;
3. Organizational issues;
4. Organizational issues concerning LEPL Department of Common Courts.

Main issues addressed during the session/decisions:

• The first issue concerned the following - a representative of the High Council of Justice is appointed to the local councils. As the Judicial Performance Appraisal Management Division consultant had been enrolled as a trainee at the High School of Justice,  the High Council of Justice was to nominate a new candidate to replace them. Because the High Council could not yet agree on who could be nominated, the issue was postponed.
• The second issue was withdrawn from the agenda without explanation.
• Organizational issues concerned:
  1. According to the decree on the establishment of the salary increment of general court judges, in particular, general court judges in July 2023 are determined to receive 70 percent of their official salary in the form of salary increments, together with a monthly increment.
  2. After announcing the competition for the job of independent inspector and interviewing the applicants, the High Council of Justice decided on the five candidates who, as noted at the session, came for the interview:
  - Ana Murachashvili;
  - Levan Nemsadze;
  - Levan Phatsatsia;;
  - Shota Qadagidze;
  - Zaza Kharebava.
  All present members of the High Council of Justice (11 members in total) unanimously supported Shota Qadagidze's candidacy.
• The fourth topic concerned the hiring of a new employee for the Common Courts Department. The chairperson of the Common Courts Department has two vice-chairmen. The High Council consents that the department chair will choose new staffing and appoint an additional employee to the vice chair position.

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