The Legal Issues Committee heard the candidates for the Supreme Court of Georgia, presented by the High Council of Justice for parliamentary selection: Gizo Ubilava, Badri Shonia, and Gocha Jeiranashvili.

Members of the faction Georgian Dream, the political group People’s Power, and representatives from non-parliamentary entities, such as the Bar Association and the Legal Aid Service, participated in the hearing process.

During the hearing, the candidates for Supreme Court judgeship answered questions about various topics, including the cases won by Georgia against Russia in the Strasbourg Court, challenges facing the judiciary, the practices of the Supreme Court, the jury system, judicial transparency, the state of the judiciary before and after 2012, and the accountability of the judiciary to the public.

All three candidates for the Supreme Court judgeship are currently serving judges. The parliamentary opposition did not participate in the hearing process.

“The process of interviewing candidates for the Supreme Court judgeship is traditionally open and transparent, and it is broadcast live. Interested parties have the opportunity to participate in this process. However, it is unfortunate that representatives of the opposition are not attending the session at all. It seems this is their understanding of accountability to the public. They are in a boycott mode, although they do not boycott receiving their salaries. This is the situation we have”, - said Anri Okhanashvili.

The Legal Issues Committee supported all three candidates: Gizo Ubilava, Badri Shonia, and Gocha Jeiranashvili. According to the committee’s decision, these candidates for the Supreme Court judgeship will be voted on in the plenary session without further discussion.