On July 1, 2021, the bill initiated by the members of the Parliament of Georgia was registered. The bill aims to enforce the Judgement of the Constitutional Court of Georgia N1/4/693,857 of June 7, 2019. Notably, the Parliament was obligated to enforce the decision till May 1, 2020.
The judgment of the Constitutional Court has established extremely important constitutional standards for the transparency of the judiciary, although it has not yet been implemented by the Parliament. The implementation of these standards is the direct constitutional obligation of the parliament. In addition, it is part of the so-called Charles Michel Agreement. It should be noted that the registration of the bill was preceded by the workshop of June 16, 2021, organized by IDFI in Borjomi, which was attended by the Legal Issues Committee of the Parliament.
According to IDFI, the bill does not fully comply with the standards set by the Constitutional Court. In addition, the bill creates significant administrative barriers to obtaining court decisions in the form of public information. Adoption of the bill in its current version does not ensure the achievement of the legitimate goals for the protection of which the Constitutional Court has declared those norms unconstitutional, that were solely focused on the protection of personal data. Thus, the bill should be evaluated negatively.
Moreover, the adoption of the bill without much-needed modifications compromises both- to freely access to judicial acts and the right to protection of personal data. Besides, the bill creates the risk of judicial overload.
IDFI believes that the bill should be significantly advanced, both in terms of normative content and legislative technique. IDFI submitted its written opinion to the Parliament of Georgia alongside two alternative bills.
Annex N1: IDFI’s Opinion on the Bill Registered for the Implementation of the Constitutional Court's Judgment
The document reviews the bill N707-3/95/10 “On Amendments to the Organic Law of Georgia on Common Courts” registered by the Members of Parliament on July 1 and describes the reasons why IDFI considers that the bill submittedfails to ensure the implementation of the judgment of the Constitutional Court, therefore, neglects the effective exercise of the right to access to judicial acts.
Annex N1.1: A Revised Version of the Bill Registered
The revised version of the bill “On Amendments to the Organic Law of Georgia on Common Courts” retains the model chosen by the Parliament of Georgia for implementing the judgment of the Constitutional Court, yet the substantive standards have been changed and the procedures for reviewing the issue of the judicial acts in the form of public information have been simplified.
Annex N1.2: Method of Implementing the Constitutional Court’s Judgment
The draft law “On Amendments to the Organic Law of Georgia on Common Courts” prepared by IDFI has changed the model selected by the chosen by the Parliament of Georgia for implementing the judgment of the Constitutional Court. Namely, the relevant issues are decided by the Apparatus of the Court instead of the judge, which reduces the risk of judicial overload, the procedure is flexible and allows for more effective access to judicial acts, as well as the protection of the right to personal data protection.
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This material has been financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida. Responsibility for the content rests entirely with the creator. Sida does not necessarily share the expressed views and interpretations.
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