Civil Rights Activists Say Shevardnadze Threatens Judicial System

President Shevardnadze’s recent directive remarks towards the judicial system and its ruling of the Tbilisi District Court, which ordered the investigative!
TV programme to pay 1 million Lari to the Georgian railway chief for moral damage, triggered the concerns of civil society activists that the courts will lose independence.

At the government’s meeting on August 13 Eduard Shevardnadze called on the Constitutional Court to consult with the government before making decisions. “Why should the Constitutional Court not consult with me, or with the State Minister [Avtandil Jorbenadze], before making such an important decision that will impact the state budget?” Eduard Shevardnadze said, referring to the Constitutional Court’s ruling last December, which banned the increase of the electricity tax.

This was the second time that Shevardnadze has mounted pressure on the court. On July 30, he called on the judges to reject any appeal by pensioners to demand that the government repay pension backlogs. “The judges are appointed by me and I have a moral right to request them to reject this kind o!
f law suit,” Eduard Shevardnadze said on July 30.

Human rights advocacy groups fear that the government is trying, by increasing pressure on the judicial system, to avoid politically undesirable rulings by the courts. The President’s opponents claim that Eduard Shevardnadze is more concerned about securing his own political future on the eve of the parliamentary elections rather than promoting civil society in the country.

“The remarks that President Shevardnadze made regarding the Constitutional Court is a violation of the Georgian Constitution. I call on the General Prosecutor’s Office to initiate a criminal case against Eduard Shevardnadze,” Tina Khidasheli, of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association, said, while speaking during a live broadcast of the Rustavi 2 TV channel on August 13.

Kote Kublashvili, a legal expert and former First Deputy Justice Minister, says that Shevardnadze’s remarks throw us back to the Soviet era, when trials were held under the direct orders of the !
country’s leadership.

“Our Constitution clearly reads that the judicial system is independent. The court can consult only with legal experts, whom may be officially invited by the court. Our legislation does not consider any covert consultations with governmental officials,” Kote Kublashvili told Civil Georgia.  

Georgian Supreme Court officials refrained from making comments regarding Shevardnadze’s statements. “We are not in a position to comment on the President’s statements. We can only comment on the court’s specific ruling,” Khatuna Charkviani, spokesperson for the Georgian Supreme Court, told Civil Georgia.

Zurab Abashidze, Chairman of the Council of Justice, a body that is responsible for implementing  judicial system reforms, said that the President has never interfered in the judicial system’s activity.

“I am not the President’s spokesman to comment on his st!
atement; however I can say that there was not even one case w!
hen pressure was put on the judges by Eduard Shevardnadze. The judges take an oath before the President and of course he has a moral right to say something about the judges,” Zurab Abashidze told Civil Georgia on August 14.

Civil activists’ doubts over the judicial system’s independence increased further after the Georgian Railway Department’s chief, Akaki Chkhaidze, who is also one of the leaders of the Presidential-backed election alliance, won a 1 million Lari (USD 460000) libel lawsuit on August 11 against the investigative TV programme 60 Minutes, which is broadcasted by the Tbilisi-based independent Rustavi 2 TV channel.

On August 13, human rights advocacy NGOs and representatives of the media issued a statement expressing concern regarding the Tbilisi District Court’s ruling against 60 Minutes. “The ruling was absolutely ungrounded and is an attempt to silence independent media on the eve of the parliamentary elections. !
It is alarming that the authorities try to use the judicial system for this reason,” the statement reads.

Civil society activists turned out to be the only group that expressed concerns regarding these recent developments in the Georgian judicial system.

“For me, the most alarming fact is that none of the political parties, including the opposition ones, reacted on Shevardnadze’s statements. Either it was not important for them, or the opposition also intends to subordinate the judicial system in case it comes to power. If I am right, that means that we are in a disaster,” says Giga Bokeria of the Liberty Institute.

By Giorgi Sepashvili, Civil Georgia