Joint letter of the EU and US Ambassadors to Kakha Kuchava.
Published:
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The diplomats remind the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, of the commitments taken by signing the Charles Michel document and call for its fulfillment.
The letter focuses on judicial reform and, in this regard, the appointment process to the High Council of Justice and the Supreme Court.
We offer you the letters from Carl Hartzell and Kelly Degnan, dated May 21, unchanged:
Dear Speaker Kuchava
We want to begin by welcoming your strong commitment to the implementation of the 19 April Mediation Agreement, particularly in terms of the involvement of the opposition in the major reform processes. Your role and engagement are critical and of the highest importance.
In the Mediation Agreement, the political parties committed to adopts ambitious judicial reform. The parties notably agreed to pause the process of appointments to the supreme court and to adopt substantive reform of the High Council of Justice, including appointments, appraisals, promotions, transfers, disciplinary measures and appeals.
Importantly, the parties committed to carry out further judicial reform through an inclusive process and to seek international advice and support for implementation of these reforms, in particular regarding the integrity of appointees, including appointees to the High Council of justice and the supreme court.
Accordingly, in line with the 19 April mediation agreement, the parliament has a key role in prioritizing amendments to the legislation concerning appointments to the supreme court and high council of justice. The amendments would benefit from the relevant Council of Europe standards in the light of the advice already provided by the international experts, including the latest Venice Commission’s Opinion. We also recall that this strict condition for the upcoming disbursement of EU micro-financial assistance to Georgia. Further, the spirit of the 19 April Mediation Agreement would be upheld, should the amendments be adopted before appointing any new members to the High Council of Justice and before the latter starts voting on the candidates to the Supreme Court. Indeed, an immediate pause in both appointment processes would demonstrate a genuine commitment to improve the transparency and trust in the Judiciary.
From our side, we stand ready to provide this international advice and support as foreseen in the agreement, including on the integrity of the appointees.
