Activities of the Independent Inspector and the High Council of Justice in Disciplinary Proceedings

17 March, 2021

On March 17th, with USAID/PROLoG support, Rights Georgia presented a monitoring report on the Activities of the Independent Inspector and the High Council of Justice in Disciplinary Proceedings. Lado Mkervalishvili, Executive Director of Rights Georgia, Giorgi Chkeidze, USAID/PROLoG Chief of the Party, and Zurab Aznaurashvili, Independent Inspector, opened the online discussion. 

Download the monitoring report

Rights Georgia studied the impact of recent judicial reforms on the disciplinary system. The report compares the national legislation and practice with international standards, including the European Court of Human Rigths case law. It also includes an analysis of statistical information and decisions made by Georgian disciplinary bodies, as well as the results of a survey of legal professionals’ opinions on the performance of the disciplinary system.

The study found that after several waves of amendments, Georgian law was mostly brought in line with international standards. However, the report also emphasizes the strikingly low number of disciplinary sanctions issued in 2013-2020 (only 7 judges disciplined in this period), indicating problems in the effectiveness of the system.

The report includes detailed recommendations: to clearly define objectives of disciplinary proceedings and disciplinary sanctions; develop a more detailed list of disciplinary violations; provide an official commentary with definitions and examples of disciplinary offences; improve substantiation of decisions made by disciplinary bodies; and ensure greater transparency of the selection of the Independent Inspector.