Statements

The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary is requesting a working meeting to discuss the implementation of the European Commission’s recommendations concerning the judiciary, more specifically, the timeline, issues, and the general scope of reforms. The Coalition is ready to present its vision of judicial reforms.

The Coalition uniting about forty nongovernmental organizations has been studying the state of the court system in Georgia for many years. It has published several studies and participated in working meetings and committee hearings. The Coalition has developed a vision for addressing the existing challenges and problems. We want to share this vision with the Legal Committee members to further the development of the reform strategy. We believe that the Coalition’s experience will contribute to ensuring compliance of reforms with the European Union’s requirements. The cooperation between the Parliament of Georgia and the Coalition will be beneficial for this process.

The European Commission report published on November 8, 2023, underlines the significance of comprehensive judicial reforms. According to the report, despite several legislative amendments, an essential part of the Venice Commission’s recommendations is yet to be fulfilled. The report also notes that the recommendations should be fulfilled through an inclusive process and final decisions should be made based on a broad political consensus.

Considering the Legal Committee’s active role in the recent judicial reforms, the Coalition hopes that the Committee will ensure the engagement of all stakeholders and proper consideration of their views.

The Coalition stands ready to fully engage in the working process and within its sphere of expertise assist the Parliament in consistently fulfilling the European Commission’s recommendations.