Transparency International – Georgia, a local corruption watchdog, released a detailed report describing the situation in four aspects of democracy, namely corruption, the judiciary, parliamentary oversight, and the media environment in Georgia for the last four years 2020-2024.
“Ahead of the crucial parliamentary elections, the democratic situation in the country has worsened alarmingly,” the watchdog said, adding, “The process of state capture has continued and deepened, impunity for high-level corruption has reached the level of kleptocracy, clan rule in the judiciary has been further strengthened, parliamentary oversight has remained a formality, a hostile environment has been created for critical media, and journalistic activity has become dangerous.”
Below are TI Georgia’s key findings in four different areas:
Anti-Corruption
The watchdog says state capture has been “confirmed, continued and deepened,” pointing in particular to the problem of high-level corruption, noting that signs of kleptocracy have emerged.
The report mentions the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which was supposed to fight corruption, but in the end “it could not be an effective [body] against corruption because it became one of the captured institutions.”
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TI-Georgia also criticizes the Georgian government for failing to implement anti-corruption reforms called for by the European Commission and the Venice Commission.
Judiciary
The report highlights the so-called “clan rule” in the judiciary, which is controlled by the government. It noted that U.S. sanctions against members of the clan “have revealed how deeply the influential group of lawyers is entrenched in corruption.” According to TI Georgia, the judiciary has been used by the government to prosecute peaceful protesters as well as politicians and media critical of the government.
The imposition of sanctions by the US State Department on the judges – key figures in the “clan” – has highlighted the extent of corruption among a group of influential judges who control the entire judicial system. The watchdog stresses that the government has refused to implement the necessary EU reforms related to the judiciary.
Parliamentary Oversight
According to the watchdog, parliamentary oversight was mostly related to the implementation of narrow party interests rather than critical issues such as corruption.
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“During the Covid pandemic, Parliament effectively refused to exercise its oversight of the executive branch,” the report notes. As for the security sector, the parliamentary oversight was essentially “formal,” the report adds. The watchdog also says the parliamentary majority has created “artificial barriers” to prevent the opposition from exercising its oversight function.
Media
In addition to the overall deterioration of the media landscape, the watchdog points to alarming cases of massive attacks and violence against journalists, sometimes resulting in death cases, as well as criminal proceedings against critical media owners and founders.
“The use of the judiciary, the Communications Commission and other government-subordinate structures against the critical media is alarming,” TI-Georgia says.
The report also mentions as “particularly dangerous” several norms and laws that have made the work of journalists more restrictive and difficult.
Also Read:
- 04/06/2024 – Parliament Slaps Bans on Critical Journalists at GD Vice-Speaker’s Request
- 01/05/2024 – Media Watchdog Calls on Swift Investigation of Attacks against Journalists
- 30/01/2024 – Georgia Slides on 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index
- 26/01/2024 – TI-Georgia: “Georgia Experiences the Ultimate Form of Corruption – a “State Capture”