When making decisions related to the judiciary, the Parliament will act in accordance with the Constitution, legislation and the agreement signed by the political parties, - Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia Kakha Kuchava says in a letter released in response to the joint letter of the US and EU Ambassadors and the Head of the Council of Europe Office.

According to Kuchava's letter, the Parliament of Georgia is not authorized to wait for the legislative changes to be carried out at the 2022 spring session and to leave five vacancies in the Council vacant for the next one year.

According to the Chairman of the Parliament, therefore, the Parliament of Georgia is obliged to announce a competition for the selection of candidates in the coming days.

At the same time, according to Kuchava, the Parliament of Georgia realizes the obligation to elect the members of the Council with the proper involvement of political parties.

"On April 19, the political parties signed a political agreement, which, among other issues, contains clauses related to the judiciary.

In particular, according to the agreement, by the end of the 2022 spring session, with the involvement of international experts, the practice of implementing the third and fourth waves of judicial reform should be studied and, based on the findings, a new package of judicial reform should be drafted. This package should also include the issues relating to the High Council of Justice. The Parliament of Georgia must faithfully fulfill the mentioned condition of the political agreement and, in accordance with the terms stipulated in the document and on the basis of a transparent and inclusive process, should adopt the relevant legislative package by the end of next spring session.

As you know, the Parliament of Georgia considered and approved the amendments to the law on the election of judges of the Supreme Court in an accelerated manner. In particular, in accordance with the political agreement, legislative changes were adopted, which fully reflect all three key recommendations of the Venice Commission regarding the election of judges of the Supreme Court: a) the rule of open voting was introduced; B) the High Council of Justice has been obliged to make a decision on the nomination of candidates in accordance with the points granted to the candidates; C) the rule of double appealing against the decisions of the High Council of Justice has been established. Following these changes, the submission of applications for the vacancies was re-announced and the procedure for selecting Supreme Court judges was resumed only after that. This very condition was reflected in the political agreement.

Due to the fact that the decision of the High Council of Justice to nominate judicial candidates of the Supreme Court will be in full compliance with the key recommendations of the Venice Commission, which is part of the political agreement, the Parliament of Georgia is obliged to act in accordance with the Constitution of Georgia and start the process of approving the candidates nominated by the Council. A working group meeting is scheduled within the framework of the Legal Issues Committee next week, were all parties will be represented.

According to the Constitution of Georgia and relevant legislation, the Parliament of Georgia is responsible for approving non-judicial members of the High Council of Justice in June this year. Accordingly, the Parliament of Georgia is not empowered to wait for the legislative changes to be adopted at the 2022 Spring Session and to leave five vacancies in the Council vacant within the next one year. Accordingly, the Parliament of Georgia is obliged to announce a competition for the selection of candidates in the coming days. At the same time, the Parliament of Georgia realizes the obligation to elect the members of the Council with the proper involvement of political parties. I, the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, am responsible for ensuring the conduct of this process.

As the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, whose primary duty is to observe the Constitution of Georgia and the procedures provided by law, as well as to act in accordance with the terms of the political agreement, I reiterate that the Parliament of Georgia, when making decisions related to the judiciary, will act on the basis of the agreement signed by the political parties and in accordance with the Constitution of Georgia, legislation of Georgia and the principle of independent judiciary," reads the letter.