"Georgian Dream" blocks vote on establishment of commission of inquiry
Commission of inquiry vote
On April 19 the Georgian Dream party again failed to participate at a parliamentary session, thus preventing the opposition from holding a vote on the establishment of a commission to investigate corruption in the judicial system.
This requires a quorum — the presence in the hall of more than half of the deputies. To avoid a quorum, deputies from the parliamentary majority refrained from registering.
76 deputies needed to register, but only 52 did so.
The creation of a special investigative commission is an initiative of the opposition, based on a decision of the US State Department on April 5 to impose sanctions on four high-ranking Georgian judges. three current and one former. Corruption was cited as the reason for the sanctions, the first personal sanctions imposed by the US on citizens of Georgia.
The issue of creating an investigative commission was put on the agenda of the parliament on April 18, but the deputies from the Georgian Dream did not register for the meeting, and the discussion did not take place due to the lack of a quorum.
- “Rule of law violated by corruption” – US Ambassador to Georgia on sanctions against judges
- Reform process in Georgia stalled – PACE on Georgia
- Sanctions against judges in Georgia will have legal and political consequences – a lawyer’s take
The same thing happened today. Deputies from the ruling party were not registered, and so the procedural issue of creating an investigative commission on the activities of judges did not arise.
Georgian Dream deputies openly declare that they do not want to create an investigative commission, as a sign of “solidarity with the judges who fell under sanctions.”
“Colleagues, we once again declare our support for an independent court and solidarity with Georgian judges, and therefore today, of course, the parliamentary majority will not be registered,” chairman of the ruling party, Irakli Kobakhidze, said.
The US State Department has imposed sanctions on judges Mikhail Chinchaladze, Levan Murusidze, Irakli Shengelia and Valerian Tsertsvadze, who are accused of corruption. According to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, they abused their official position.
