Day: April 2, 2024

Mamuka Mdinaradze, a Georgian Dream parliamentary majority leader, “categorically” called on the U.S., the U.S. Embassy in Georgia, and the U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Robin Dunnigan to lift sanctions against Georgian judges.

“So far we have not seen any evidence that would prove even the relevance of these sanctions, let alone the conditions and real reasons for them,” Mamuka Mdinaradze said on April 1, more than a year after the judges were sanctioned, at the briefing held at the party office.

Claiming that “several judges were sanctioned without any ground” Mdinaradze stressed that “this encourages a petty campaign against the judiciary driven by some representatives of the NGO sector and the UNM, and its various branches” allegedly referring to the criticism of the judiciary “clan” and calls by the CSOs and the opposition to introduce the vetting (integrity checks for judges ) system as stipulated by the EU in its nine conditions for opening accession negotiations.

On April 5, 2023, the U.S. Department of State designated Mikheil Chinchaladze, Levan Murusidze, Irakli Shengelia, and Valerian Tsertsvadze, the judges of the Georgian “judicial clan,” under Section 7031(c) visa restriction authorities. According to the statement issued by the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, “These individuals abused their positions as court Chairmen and Members of High Council of Justice, undermining the rule of law and the public’s faith in Georgia’s judicial system.”

In this context, Mdinaradze also mentioned Judge Lasha Chkhikvadze, who claimed that he had been pressured by the U.S. and Michael Gahler, a member of the European Parliament, over his ruling against the then opposition-leaning head of Mtavari Arkhi TV, Nika Gvaramia. The then- U.S. Ambassador Kelly Degnan denied Judge Lasha Chkhikvadze’s allegations of interference, saying that “any suggestion that the United States has interfered in the judicial process here [in Georgia] is simply not true.” Shortly after his ruling in the Gvaramia case, Chkhikvadze was removed from the U.S. exchange program for Georgian judges. The U.S. side also denied any allegations of a connection between his decision in the Gvaramia case and his removal from the exchange program.

Mdinaradze lamented that “[the U.S.] imposed a visa restriction on Lasha Chkhikvadze, as a result of which he, as a judge, is not allowed to participate in various [exchange] activities.”

Referring to the European Court of Human Rights, Mdinaradze also said that the court had ruled in favor of Chkhikvadze and that he had been “absolutely groundlessly criticized and even bullied.” Mdinaradze added that for all the bad things that have happened to Chkhikvadze and his family, anyone who has even indirectly criticized and “bullied” him “should apologize” to this judge.

“All this is encouraged by everything that is groundless, including groundless sanctions, especially by such a country as the United States of America, which for us is the main strategic partner, our friend,” Mdinaradze said. “Therefore, we are categorical in request or demand, that the sanctions against them be lifted and that our friend does not give a chance to some petty and evil subject to manipulate this fact,” Mdinaradze concluded.

GD majority leader also claimed that “if anything can stir up anti-American and anti-Western sentiments, it is the groundless decisions, such as sanctioning the judges.”

Also Read:

• 22/03/2024 – EC Tells Georgia Judge Vetting Part of EU Negotiation “Fundamentals”
• 20/03/2024 – Dozens of CSOs React to PM, Speaker Statements on Ruling Out “Vetting” of Judges
• 30/11/2023 – Watchdog Criticizes Judicial System, Calls for Reform

The ruling Georgian Dream and the parliamentary opposition Girchi party struck a deal envisaging the support of the ruling GD to Girchi’s initiative on cancelation of women’s quotas from the party lists of the parliamentary elections. The current version of the Election Code provides that at least one in every four persons on any party list must be a woman.

In exchange, Girchi is to vote in favor of the GD candidate for the position of Central Electoral Commission (CEC) Chairperson, or as GD MP Beka Davituliani put it Girchi promised that “when its comes to the election of the CEC Chairperson, they will focus on his/her [of the candidate] integrity and the professionalism, and [the topic] will not be used for the realization of certain private political issues.” The Parliament will consider the draft law in an accelerated manner.

The Georgian Women’s Movement, a group of human rights and gender equality activists, and the Public Defender of Georgia issued statements denouncing the bill, initiated by the party Girchi and supported by the ruling Georgian Dream party, that would abolish mandatory gender quotas for electoral party lists.

“There were no prerequisites for abolishing gender quotas. Such initiatives are a fight, not only against female politicians, but against all women living in this country,” the Georgian Women’s Movement said, adding that “we, the female electorate, declare an uncompromising fight against the expulsion of women from the Parliament with the motive of including more millionaire men in the election lists, whose only goal is to protect their own business interests, not to protect the interests of the people.”

The Public Defender of Georgia assesses the bill negatively. “With the planned legislative changes, we are ignoring the results of the long struggle of women and worsening the existing mechanisms for achieving equality.”

Nino Tsilosani, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament and the Chairperson of the Permanent Parliamentary Gender Equality Council from the ruling Georgian Dream party published a statement on behalf of the female MPs from the parlimentary majority, saying that “it is clear that mandatory quotas are a temporary measure for women’s political empowerment, and not the only way. This is a form of positive discrimination, which to a certain extent has already achieved its main task – the number of women involved in politics has increased and women’s issues have become a relevant part of the agenda.”

According to Tsilosani, “our political team remains committed to the principles that we supported during this period” and the party will use “every opportunity” to empower women with its own initiatives and internal party democracy.

Meanwhile, in February 2023 the Georgian Parliament extended the period of validity of gender quotas in proportional party lists until 2032. In addition, the amendments stipulated that every fourth person on the proportional party lists for the elections scheduled for October 26, 2024, as well as for the next parliamentary elections scheduled before 2028, should be a woman (not, as it was specified before, “a person of another sex”). Initially, the gender quotas were voted down by the Parliament in 2018. In 2020, the Parliament endorsed the electoral amendments which, among other things, introduced the effective 25% gender quotas for party lists.

This article was updated on 02/04/2024 at 15:56 to reflect the statement published by MP Tsilosani.

Also Read:

• 27/09/2020 – Court: 25% Women Quota, All-Women Party List Constitutional