On September 18, 2015 the Parliament of Georgia adopted the draft amendments to the Law on the Prosecutor’s Office on the third reading. The amendments constitute the reform of the Prosecutor’s Office which according to the Government of Georgia. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary got engaged in this process by publishing opinions [1] on the draft law. In its commentary the Coalition stressed that establishing a new rule for the selection/appointment and dismissal of Prosecutor General is not sufficient for the reform of the Prosecutor’s Office. The Coalition also criticized the initial draft amendments, which did not guarantee depoliticization of the selection process. Later, the Venice Commission developed a similar opinion [2], which stated that despite a generally positive direction of the process of reform, the draft law submitted for consideration did not provide guarantees for full depoliticization of the Prosecutor’s Office. It needs to be stated once more that the Government did not adequately justify the lack of will and readiness for constitutional changes in this context.
The Coalition’s position on the version of the draft adopted on the third reading is that despite certain positive changes, the goal of the draft law – to depoliticize the system – has not been achieved, because despite the Venice Commission opinion the presented changes are fragmental and are not concerned with major principles which in the future shall ensure effective independence of the Prosecutor’s Office. In particular:
According to the adopted draft law, the Parliament approves a candidate by a simple majority vote, which a ruling party can ensure. This power is not balanced by the selection process, which takes place at Prosecutorial Council, since the adopted draft law allows for the selection of a candidate acceptable solely to the ruling party.
The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary will monitor the process of selection/appointment of Prosecutor General according to the new rules. It will also assess the process of composition of Prosecutorial Council and the selection of Prosecutor General by the Parliament. The findings of these assessments will be publicized.
Links
[1] http://www.coalition.org.ge/en/article242/%E1%83%99%E1%83%9D%E1%83%90%E1%83%9A%E1%83%98%E1%83%AA%E1%83%98%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1_%E1%83%92%E1%83%90%E1%83%9C%E1%83%AA%E1%83%AE%E1%83%90%E1%83%93%E1%83%94%E1%83%91%E1%83%90_%E1%83%9E%E1%83%A0%E1%83%9D%E1%83%99%E1%83%A3%E1%83%A0%E1%83%90%E1%83%A2%E1%83%A3%E1%83%A0%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1_%E1%83%A0%E1%83%94%E1%83%A4%E1%83%9D%E1%83%A0%E1%83%9B%E1%83%90%E1%83%96%E1%83%94_%E1%83%95%E1%83%94%E1%83%9C%E1%83%94%E1%83%AA%E1%83%98%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1_%E1%83%99%E1%83%9D%E1%83%9B%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1%E1%83%98%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1_%E1%83%AC%E1%83%98%E1%83%9C%E1%83%90%E1%83%A1%E1%83%AC%E1%83%90%E1%83%A0_%E1%83%93%E1%83%90%E1%83%A1%E1%83%99%E1%83%95%E1%83%9C%E1%83%90%E1%83%A1%E1%83%97%E1%83%90%E1%83%9C_%E1%83%93%E1%83%90%E1%83%99%E1%83%90%E1%83%95%E1%83%A8%E1%83%98%E1%83%A0%E1%83%94%E1%83%91%E1%83%98%E1%83%97
[2] http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-PI(2015)014-e