I expected him [Pawel Herczynski] to at least express his regret over the fact that Embassy of the European Union was an instrument of the fake attack on Georgian justice. Instead, we heard that apparently it is necessary to [check] the integrity of Georgian judges, Georgian Parliament Chairman Shalva Papuashvili told journalists.

According to him, if anyone in the country needs to have their integrity checked, it is the nongovernmental sector and former Public Defender Nino Lomjaria.

“Yesterday, I was surprised by the incumbent ambassador’s statement regarding vetting. I expected him to at least express his regret over the embassy’s role as an instrument of a fake attack on Georgian justice. Georgian justice and specific judges have practically been the object of attack for two years because of such statements. Yesterday, instead of an expression of regret from the incumbent ambassador of the European Union over the fact that the former ambassador’s statement misled the public, was unfair to specific judges, was not based on facts, and had a discrediting effect on Georgian justice, we heard that apparently it is necessary to [check] the integrity of Georgian judges. If anyone’s integrity needs to be checked, it is that of our NGO sector. Recall the statements of their “troikas” regarding this particular issue, when they held comrades’ courts concerning these matters and passed judgements whereby not only was Nika Gvaramia right in this case, apparently the crime did not even exist to begin with. If anyone’s integrity needs to be checked, it is that of the former Public Defender who even appealed to the court with her conclusion, suggesting that not only was Nika Gvaramia right in this case but the crime itself did not exist in the first place.This former Public Defender has received a medal from the United States, another from France, and is an applauded former Public Defender. Her former deputy – who compiled this false report at the time – is currently employed at the US Embassy.

These attacks create certain perceptions regarding Georgian justice, and then the same actors (ambassadors and other foreign actors) talk to us about perceptions, suggesting that certain perceptions exist regarding justice in Georgia. The fact is that these perceptions, if indeed anyone holds them, are created precisely by such unconscientious statements by former ambassadors and the nongovernmental sector (which is funded by these embassies and these sources in a non-transparent manner, and this is a separate issue in its own right). Then, based on the perceptions that they themselves created, they tell us that the integrity of Georgian judges needs to be checked,” Papuashvili stated.

According to him, an orchestrated campaign against the Georgian justice system is currently underway.

“It emerged during the discussion that no one has the arguments to support the existence of systemic challenges that would require such a radical intervention. Therefore, vetting is not necessary.

Vetting carried out with the participation of foreign citizens contravenes the Constitution and is categorically unacceptable to the Georgian people. No one is planning to involve Polish, Dutch, and Lithuanian experts here. This is unacceptable,” the Chairman of the Parliament stated.

Background: EU Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczynskistated that “if we go back to the first enlargement report that the European Commission developed for Georgia last year, which was published last October, we will see the need to check the quality of the judges' integrity, and this should be done with the participation of international experts.”

According to the ambassador, the ultimate goal is to have an independent and professional judicial system in order to strengthen democracy in Georgia.

“If we go back to the first enlargement report that the European Commission developed for Georgia last year, which was published last October, we will see the need to check the quality of the judges' integrity, and this should be done with the participation of international experts. How we should do this, what the procedure should be, we need to discuss this with our Georgian colleagues,” the ambassador stated.