Brussels, 22 March 2024
A comprehensive reform of the judiciary, including a reform of the High Council of Justice, in line with the findings of the 2023 EU enlargement report on Georgia and with the Venice Commission’s recommendations, is one of the European Commission’s recommendations in the area of the “fundamentals” in Georgia’s EU accession path.
This is also part of the nine steps listed in the latest EU enlargement communication of the European Commission, endorsed by all EU Member States, that recommended granting Georgia the status of candidate country.
To address the existing systemic challenges in the judicial system, Georgia needs to establish a system of extraordinary integrity checks, with the involvement of international experts with a decisive role in the process, for candidates and persons currently appointed to all leading positions in the judiciary, in particular the High Council of Justice, the Supreme Court and court presidents.
In this context, the European Union is concerned about recent comments by Georgian public officials, which were directed against individual judges, who expressed their views regarding a potential system of integrity checks for the judiciary. It is important to ensure the independence of the judiciary.
The EU remains in close dialogue with the authorities and is ready to support advancing these important reforms for the benefit of all the people of Georgia.
Source – EEAS