Merab Turava Appointed Deputy of GD Justice Minister

Paata Salia, a member of Ivanishvili's parliament, was appointed Minister of Justice in the Georgian Dream government on April 7, while his predecessor, Anri Okhanashvili, became the head of the State Security Service. Grigol Liluashvili, the former head of the State Security Service, was expected to become Georgia's Minister of Regional Development, but the decision was changed, and Kakha Guledani, the Deputy Vice-Mayor of Tbilisi, took the post.

Merab Turava's ten-year term on the Constitutional Court expired on March 30, 2025. He was a judge elected by Parliament.

The Constitutional Court consists of nine judges. The President of Georgia appoints three members, the Parliament of Georgia elects three members, and the Supreme Court appoints three members.

Georgian Dream does not have enough votes in parliament to elect a Constitutional Court judge. Before Turava's term expired, judge Khvicha Kikilashvili, appointed under the Supreme Court's quota, resigned five years early. On April 8, Revaz Nadaraia, who was a lifetime judge of the Supreme Court, was appointed as a Constitutional Court judge in his place. On April 16, Revaz Nadaraia was elected Chairman of the Constitutional Court by secret ballot.

In March, it was revealed that Lithuania sanctioned seven of the nine judges of the Constitutional Court (except Giorgi Kverenchkhiladze and Teimuraz Tughushi).

“The newly blacklisted officials include seven judges of the Constitutional Court of Georgia, as well as a large number of Georgian judges, prosecutors, and police officers, including those who testified falsely against journalist Mzia Amaglobeli and contributed to her illegal detention. Amaglobeli went on a 38-day hunger strike to protest against the misconduct of the authorities, and her life was in danger,” stated the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.