The European Union’s External Action Service decried today Georgia’s “hastily designed and adopted” April 1 changes to the selection process of the Supreme Court Justices. The EU’s foreign policy arm said revising the selection process of top court judges in line with Venice Commission recommendations is “a condition for the disbursement of the second tranche of macro-financial assistance to Georgia.”
According to the statement, while the EU welcomes the initiative to amend the legal framework of the selection process, “it is disappointing that the Georgian Parliament hastily designed and adopted these amendments without an inclusive consultation process.” The EEAS also expressed regrets that Georgia had already amended the legislation “in a rushed process without a timely request to or awaiting the final opinion of the Venice Commission.”
Noting that Georgia’s highest judicial instance is crucial to be composed of “judges of utmost professional competence and integrity,” the EU’s foreign policy arm “strongly recommended” the country to request as soon as possible a Venice Commission assessment on whether the adopted amendments comply with its previous recommendations.
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