Two judge members of the High Council of Justice resigned

The representative of Georgian Court Watch attended today's (March 14) session of the HIgh Council of Justice, where the secretary of the Council, Nikoloz Marsagishvili, announced that two judge members, Badri Shonia and Paata Silagadze, left the position of judge member of the High Council of Justice early.

It should be noted that Badri Shonia and Paata Silagadze are candidates for the position of Supreme Court judge within the framewrok of the ogoing competition, and during the session this was named as the reason for their resignation.

Thus, 13 members remained in the High Council of Justice.

Having two members leave the Council right during the nomination process undermines the process of selecting nominees for the Supreme Court. It further perpetuates concerns regarding the High Council of Justice's practice of sourcing Supreme Court appointments predominantly from within its ranks, a trend observed in multiple instances previously.

Badri Shonia is a judge of the Tbilisi City Court, who was elected by the Conference of Judges on May 26, 2021 as a member of the High Council of Justice of Georgia, and Paata Silagadze, who is a judge of the Tbilisi Court of Appeal, was elected as a member of the Council of Justice on October 31, 2021.