On October 17, the Parliament of Georgia elected Levan Nemsadze and Goga Kikilashvili as non-judge members of the Supreme Council of Justice with 90 votes. Goga Kikilashvili is the son of Constitutional Court Judge Khvicha Kikilashvili, one of the 6 judges who, a day earlier, found the President of Georgia to have violated the norms of the Constitution.
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‘’It is highly worrying that the day after the Constitutional Court announced the decision on the President's case, the Parliament of Georgia elects the son of one of the judges as a member of the Supreme Council of Justice,’’ says Nazi Janezashvili, head of the NGO ‘Court Watch’.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, one of the heads of the Georgian Dream party, denied a connection between the election of Goga Kikilashvili and the decision made by Judge Khvicha Kikilashvili.
‘’We could not have known months in advance that Salome Zourabichvili would violate the Constitution, could we? So, we calculated the future, told Kikilashvili to submit his documents, and that we would elect him in exchange for his father’s support… of truth? Do you really believe such nonsense?’’ stated Mdinaradze.
The election of non-judge members of the Supreme Council of Justice is one of the conditions for obtaining the EU candidate status. According to Nazi Janezashvili, with the said decision, the government is creating an imitation of fulfilling this requirement.
‘’These developments are a clear example of nepotism within the judicial system, which, along with other shortcomings, significantly hinders the process of Georgia’s integration into Europe.
Additionally, such staffing decisions significantly damage the trust in the judicial system and strengthen the clan rule,’’ says Janezashvili.
The President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, whose impeachment discussions started today in the Parliament, congratulated Khvicha Kikilashvili on the success of his son during her speech in the legislative body.
Non-governmental organizations view Judge Khvicha Kikilashvili as a member of the so-called judicial clan.
Back when he worked as a judge of the Khelvachauri Court, Khvicha Kikilashvili adjudged a case of one of the leaders of the judicial clan, Giorgi Mikautadze. Parents of a minor were claiming that Giorgi Mikautadze, who was the Chairman of the Tbilisi City Court at the time, beat their son on Gonio Beach in 2016. The investigation was initially launched on the fact of beating the child but was soon requalified as death threats to the judge. Khvicha Kikilashvili arrested the child's parents. Finally, the court convicted the parents of hooliganism and imposed a fine of 4 thousand GEL.
