“I believed, and I still believe today, that the sanctioning of Georgian judges by the British and Americans was unequivocally carried out with the aim of discrediting the judicial system, because neither of these countries wants an independent judiciary,” Davit Mamisheishvili, a candidate for the Supreme Court, said.

Mamisheishvili made the statement while responding to questions from MPs of the For Georgia faction during a hearing of the Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee.

According to him, the Georgian judiciary is more independent than ever today.

“Given that if they [the United States and the United Kingdom] have the appropriate leverage to influence the adoption of a possible decision that is desirable to them, that would be acceptable to them. Today, the Georgian judiciary is more independent than ever. Judges in Georgia have the appropriate guarantees.

Today, it is impossible to simply take a judge from the Bolnisi Court and transfer them to the Tbilisi City Court. Today, it is impossible for anyone to dismiss a judge from the judiciary for any reason.

We are judges and we are responsible for the decisions we make. A decision made by one judge cannot be considered a matter of collective responsibility, because each judge examines the evidence independently and makes the final decision themselves as to whether a person is guilty or innocent.

There are mistakes in the judiciary. That is precisely why appellate and cassation courts exist. The three levels of courts in the country exist precisely so that if a first-instance judge makes a mistake, it can be corrected by the appellate court. If we make a mistake at the appellate level, the Supreme Court can correct it. Otherwise, we will not have a state governed by the rule of law.

I do not understand why you are looking at me mockingly or aggressively. I am a judge, you are a politician. You asked me questions, and I am answering you. The answers may not be to your liking, but that does not mean the candidate should feel uncomfortable,” Davit Mamisheishvili said in response to members of the For Georgia faction.