Justice Lyudmila Khojashvili, 64, was elected on March 1 as the new Abkhaz “constitutional court” chairperson for a three-year term, replacing Nuri Tania.
Prior to the appointment, Khojashvili served as deputy court chairperson. In 2005-2011, she worked as the minister for justice of the Russian-occupied region.
The Abkhaz constitutional court consists of five justices – Nuri Tania, Raul Pantia, Diana Pilia, Lyudmila Khojashvili, and Alisa Bigvava, elected by the Abkhaz legislature for a 15-year term on the proposal of the Abkhaz president.
Also on the same day, Pilia was appointed deputy chairperson of the court, and Nuri Tania was elected as the secretary.
Khojashvili graduated from the law faculty of the Turkmen State University in 1986. In 1973-1980, she worked as a court clerk at the Ashgabat Regional Court of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic. Khojashvili then held various positions in the Supreme Court and Justice Ministry of the Turkmen SSR. Prior to moving to Abkhazia in 1995, she served as one of the district judges in Ashgabat for some eight years. In 1995-2005 Khojashvili held the post of deputy justice minister of breakaway Abkhazia.
The Moscow-backed region’s constitutional court was established in November 2016 and it became fully operational in February 2018.
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