Day: October 17, 2023

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili revoked Otar Parskhaladze’s citizenship and vetoed the so-called “tent law” before the Parliament votes on her impeachment on October 18.

“Before the Parliament starts impeachment procedure, President signed a decree renouncing Georgian citizenship for Otar Partskhaladze and vetoed the amendments to the law “On Assemblies and Manifestations,” as another anti-European law,” – reports the President’s Administration.

Otar Partskhaladze, a former Prosecutor General and crony of Bidzina Ivanishvili who was sanctioned on September 14 by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for channeling malign Russian influence in Georgia, held dual Georgian and Russian citizenship. In September, the Ministry of Justice sent to the president the conclusion on revoking Partskhaladze’s Georgian citizenship. However, Zurabishvili then delayed the decision to revoke Partskhaladze’s citizenship, saying he should be tried as a Georgian citizen. Partskhaladze’s Georgian citizenship is a key detail because, after he was sanctioned, the National Bank of Georgia made changes to the sanctions enforcement rule, according to which international sanctions do not apply to a Georgian citizen until a Georgian court issues a guilty verdict against him, . Partskhaladze since gifted all the property and land he owned in Georgia to his son, Andria (Anzor) Partskhaladze.

As for the “Tent Law”, on October 5, Parliament endorsed the amendment to the Law on Assemblies and Manifestations that the ruling party rushed through in an accelerated procedure. The law empowers police to prohibit the erection of “temporary structures” like tents during assemblies or demonstrations if such setups are deemed to pose a threat to participants’ safety, disrupt public order, interfere with the normal functioning of institutions, or are unnecessary for the event’s organization. The recently enacted legislation is commonly dubbed by opposition and activists the “New Russian Law.” Some activists staged a protest in front of the parliament building on the evening of October 5. Demonstrators erected tents and remained overnight, demanding that Georgia’s President, Salome Zurabishvili, veto the legislation.

Also Read:

• 20/09/2023 – MoJ Recommends to Revoke Partskhaladze’s Georgian Citizenship
• 19/09/2023 – National Bank Makes U-Turn, Shields Sanctioned Partskaladze
• 18/09/2023 – U.S. Sanctions | Who is Otar Partskhaladze?
• 14/09/2023 – US Sanctions Ivanishvili Crony for Channeling Russia’s Influence

The Documentary Association of Georgia (DOCA) says in its statement that the State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) has summoned its member Mariam Chutkerashvili for questioning in connection with the so-called “training plot” allegation. According to the statement, on September 26-29 Mariam Chutkerashvili took part in the training in the framework of “Citizens Engagement Programme”, which was co-organized by the East-West Management Institute and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The training, which was open to representatives of the cinema, theatre and other arts sectors, aimed to build links between participants and promote greater independence and efficiency for the arts sector.

According to DOCA, the SSSG has already questioned the trainers and is now gradually summoning the participants of the training for questioning. The SSSG claims that the trainings aimed at “actively recruiting activists with the intent of orchestrating the violent overthrow of Georgia’s lawfully elected government.”

DOCA states: “The Documentary Association of Georgia and the individuals behind it, including Mariam Chutkerashvili, declare that not only are we all not interested in violent actions, but we oppose violence with our values. We consider this development absurd and our colleague’s involvement in it a malicious act and an injustice. The summoning of our colleague and other training participants is viewed as pressure on the arts representatives and an act against free and creative artistic expression.”

Earlier this month, (SSSG) summoned Natalia Vatsadze, an actress, and Vakho Kareli, a photographer, in a follow-up to the same “training plot” allegations.

In connection with the same allegations SSSG had questioned three Serbian trainers affiliated with the civil society organization CANVAS, who were brought to Georgia to participate in a civil society engagement program funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Before that SSSG took a deposition from CANVAS-Georgia director, Giorgi Meladze and trainer Nino Gogiberidze in connection with the same allegation.

CANVAS, the US Embassy, and the U.S. State Department have strongly denied the charge as “false” and “mischaracterizing the nature of assistance” by the United States government.

Also Read:

• 04/10/2023 – U.S. State Department: Plot Allegations Mischaracterize the Goals of US Assistance to Georgia
• 02/10/2023 – U.S. Embassy: Plot Allegations “False”
• 02/10/2023 – GD Officials React to SSSG’s Claims of USAID-Funded Trainers Plotting Unrest in Georgia
• 02/10/2023 – Opposition MPs Skeptical About Security Services Claims of “Plot”

On October 16, the Constitutional Court of Georgia ruled that President Salome Zurabishvili breached the country’s Constitution by making working visits to Europe without the Government’s approval. The decision of the Constitutional Court on violating the Constitution by the President of Georgia includes a dissenting opinion from three judges – Giorgi Kverenchkhiladze, Irine Imerlishvili, and Teimuraz Tugushi.

“We believe that our colleagues misinterpreted the constitutional mandate of the President of Georgia, as well as the nature and purpose of the constitutional provision determining the consent of the Government to the exercise of representative powers by the President in foreign relations”- judges stated.

The judges agreed that while the current Constitution doesn’t grant the President executive authority or the power to direct domestic and foreign policy, it doesn’t entirely exclude the President from a role in foreign affairs.

In their view, the Constitution of Georgia “should not create empty or fictitious institutions without a clear and meaningful role”. They argued that presenting any constitutional institution in such a way, without its intended function, not only diminishes the constitutional significance but also disregards the fundamental purpose of the Constitution as the cornerstone of democratic governance.

The judges conveyed that the role of the President of Georgia, as well as all other constitutional bodies, should be comprehended within the broader context of the Constitution, considering its overall architecture, cohesive spirit, and fundamental values. “Thus, the role assigned to the President of Georgia by the Constitution of Georgia is unique. The activities of political groups (government or opposition) are always loaded and dictated by a certain political agenda, which may carry different interests of one or more groups. Contrary to what has been said, the President of Georgia, as a politically impartial high-ranking official, is in the most favorable position to express the common national position both domestically and internationally”- judges stated.

The judges explained that Article 52, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph “A” of the Georgian Constitution examines whether the President can be delegated governmental powers. They emphasized that a potential violation of the Constitution may occur when the President undertakes a foreign visit without the consent of the Government if such a visit goes beyond ceremonial duties. The judges emphasized the importance of considering the content and purpose of the visit in determining whether the President exceeded her ceremonial role or infringed on the government’s constitutionally defined powers.

The judges argued that requiring formal approval for each such action would change the role of the President and undermine her role as a politically impartial head of state.

According to the judges, the Constitutional Court of Georgia is a crucial authority in the impeachment process, authorizing the removal of the President from office. It is responsible for determining valid grounds for impeachment. However, the Court’s decision states: “… the Constitutional Court unequivocally and clearly states that its role is not to assess, in case of confirmation of the legal basis for impeachment, whether a particular official deserves the corresponding dismissal from office on the grounds of violation (violation of the Constitution and/or the presence of signs of crime in his/her actions), which, in case of a positive conclusion by the Constitutional Court, will be decided by the Parliament of Georgia according to the relevant political considerations…”. The Court’s interpretation suggests that the decision will ultimately depend on political factors rather than a careful legal analysis that may deviate from the constitutional intent. The judges expressed concern that this would place the legal issue of impeachment in the realm of political considerations.

The judges argued that even if the President had violated the Constitution in a formal sense, her actions did not significantly damage the state’s foreign policy or pose a substantial threat to the constitutional order of governance. They argued that removing the President from office is a drastic measure that should be considered only when necessary to protect the constitutional order. In this case, according to them, such a drastic step was unwarranted.

In addition, they believe that the impeachment of the President would result in a greater violation of the constitutional interests of the President in the exercise of her powers than the violation specified in the petition as defined by the Constitution of Georgia.

The judges concluded, based on the evidence presented, that the President did not exceed her authority or obstruct the government in the conduct of its foreign policy through the disputed visits, and thus found no basis for a violation of the Constitution in this particular case. Hence, the Constitutional Court should not have found that the President had violated the Constitution.

Also Read:

• 16/10/2023 – Presidential Representatives: Constitutional Court Ruling is Political
• 16/10/2023 – Constitutional Court Rules President’s Foreign Visits Unconstitutional
• 05/10/2023 – Updated: 3 Days of the Constitutional Court Deliberation on President’s Impeachment

On October 17, the Parliament of Georgia elected two non-judge members of the High Council of Justice (HCoJ)- Levan Nemsadze and Goga Kikilashvili.

Goga Kikilashvili, guest lecturer at the International Black Sea University and researcher, was nominated by the International Black Sea University. Levan Nemsadze, a specialist in the field of law, was nominated by the NGO Civil Development Society and NGO Free Development Protection Association.

To be elected as a non-judge member of the HCoJ, the candidates needed the support of 90 MPs, which meant they needed one vote from the opposition.

The parliamentary majority has a total of 85 votes (Prior to the vote the Parliament supported the recognition of Georgian Dream party member Giorgi Sosiashvili‘s MP mandate). The Georgian Dream allied party “European Socialists” led by Fridon Injia, provided the additional four votes. It is not known who from the opposition flank supported the non-judge candidates.

The vote on Levan Nemsadze’s candidacy took place twice. The first time only 89 votes were registered, which was challenged by the leader of the Georgian Dream faction, Mamuka Mdinaradze, who said that one of the buttons didn’t work. In the second round of voting, Nemsadze received the required 90 votes.

Goga Kikilashvili is the son of Constitutional Court judge Khvicha Kikilashvili, who was one of the six judges who supported the Court’s ruling that Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili’s visits to European capitals were unconstitutional. The founder of the NGO “Georgian Court Watch”, Nazi Janezashvili shared this information on social media, stating: “There is no need to comment, but after the decision of the Constitutional Court, do you understand how quickly the son of the judge in the President’s impeachment case was awarded?”.

Now that all five vacancies on the HCoJ have been filled, the quota of non-judicial members has been met. In May this year, Parliament elected elected three non-judge of the HCoJ by anonymous vote – Tristan Benashvili (93 votes), Giorgi Gzobava (91 votes) and Zurab Guraspashvili (93 votes). Another non-judicial member, Tamar Gvamichava, was appointed by the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili.