On November 7, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) published its judgment in the case of Bakradze v. Georgia, finding Georgia guilty of violating Article 14 of the Convention, in conjunction with Articles 10 and 11, and ordering the State to pay EUR 4,500 for non-pecuniary damage.
The case concerns Maia Bakradze, a former judge and current president of the non-governmental organization “The Unity of Judges of Georgia,” who brought her appeal to the Strasbourg Court after two unsuccessful attempts to secure a position at the Tbilisi Court of Appeal because of her NGO and critical statements about the judicial system in Georgia.
Bakradze was appointed as a judge at the Tsalka District Court in 2005 for a 10-year term, then transferred to the Tbilisi City Court until 2006, and then to the Tbilisi Court of Appeals, where she served until her term expired in 2015. In 2015 and 2016, she tried to secure another position at the Tbilisi Court of Appeals by participating in the judicial competitions held by the representatives of the High Council of Justice. The video footage of the interviews she had, showed that instead of being questioned about her ethics and professional experience, the questions focused on the activities of her NGO and her critical statements.
The state claimed that Bakradze was unsuccessful in securing the position because of “her performance in the relevant competitions.” However, based on the evidence provided, the ECHR found that HCoJ violated the European Convention on Human Rights’ Article 14 (Prohibition of discrimination), in conjunction with Articles 10 (Freedom of expression) and 11 (Freedom of assembly and association).
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