The civil sector demands the creation of an investigative commission to study the current situation in the judicial system.

Recently, the public's attention has been drawn to the statements of former judges, who speak publicly about the pressure on judges and improper interference in the justice system. Among them, the interviews with former judges - Natia Kutateladze and Ana Ghelekva published by Georgian Court Watch and Besarion Alavidze's public statements deserve special consideration.

For the last few years, the civil sector has been openly discussing the presence of an influential group of judges in the judicial system - the Clan, with which the current and previous governments controlled the judicial system. This group has been cooperating with political authorities for 15 years using various methods of illegal influence on the judges.

The public statements of the former judges raise questions that need to be answered to improve the judicial system and restore public confidence in it. In particular, the questions refer to:

• Possible illegal interference in the consideration of court cases,
• Possible manipulation of the system of distribution of cases;
• Signs of corruption and nepotism in the judicial system;
• Possible unfair deals and pressure during the appointment of judges.

 The following reports in the media have not been still investigated:

• In 2015, the likely leak of court exam tests and cases; statements of former judges - Lali Lazarashvili, Tamaz Jaliashvili, Nunu Nemsitsveridze, Natia Kutateladze, Ana Ghelekva, Besarion Alavidze regarding illegal interference in their activities;
• Studio Monitor report about alleged concealment of property and income by judges;
• Blackmailing of judges through initiated and "shelved" cases;
• Statement of the former deputy head of the Security Service, Soso Gogashvili, regarding the illegal interference in the activities of Besarion Alavidze by the authorities.

In response to the information disseminated publicly,  taking into account the inaction of the law enforcement system and the lack of proper political will of the ruling party, we consider the creation of a special investigative commission in the parliament as an effective mechanism for determining the truth on the questions raised by the public. Opposition parties have the necessary votes in Parliament for the creation of such a commission. According to the regulation of the Parliament of Georgia, one of the grounds for the creation of the investigative commission is the information about the illegal actions and corruption offenses of the state body, and officials, that threaten the state security, sovereignty, territorial integrity, political, economic and other interests of Georgia.

We remind the public once again that without a fair judiciary, it is impossible to develop the country democratically and create a stable political environment. In addition, the systemic reform of justice is one of the fundamental prerequisites for Georgia's integration into European structures.

Accordingly, we call on the parliamentary opposition:

to create an investigative commission to investigate and respond to systemic crimes and other violations in the judicial system.

Signatories:

1. Group of independent lawyers
2. Georgian Court Watch
3. Democracy Index - Georgia
4. Social Justice Center
5. Democracy Research Institute (DRI)
6. Rights Georgia
7. Georgian Young Lawyers Association
8. Human Rights Center
9. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED)
10. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI)
11. European-Georgia Institute (EGI)
12. Transparency International - Georgia