Head of the EU Delegation to Georgia speaks about the necessity of transparency of the selection and appointment of judges of the Supreme Court.
According to Carl Harzell, the fact that the Parliament of Georgia has given little time to discuss the recommendations of the Venice Commission regarding the appointment / selection procedure of judges is a missed opportunity.
According to him, the responsibility for selection of candidates according to the qualification and reputation will ultimately be imposed on the legislature because the legislative body should develop the necessary procedures.
"It is very important to have transparent and reliable procedures when dealing with appointment of judges. We, together with the Council of Europe and the United States, were actively involved in this process, in terms of giving advice. The recommendations we received from the Venice Commission are in line with the goals we strove to achieved. I think this is a missed opportunity when the Parliament has not spent much time discussing the recommendations of the Venice Commission.In the given situation it is important that the process of getting applications goes forward. Ultimately, the responsibility for the decision-making process will be imposed on the Parliament and its members. This process involves issues related to qualification and reputation of candidates, "said Carl Harzell, head of the EU Delegation to Georgia.