Parliament of Georgia adopts amendments that allow filing lawsuit against President
The Parliament of Georgia allows filing a lawsuit against the President
The Parliament of Georgia has adopted the amendments to the Law on the Constitutional Court, which permit to appeal the actions of the President of Georgia in court.
The bill was supported by 83 deputies, and 15 deputies opposed it. The initiative belongs to the ruling party, the Georgian Dream.
According to the amendments, the relevant body has the right to file a constitutional complaint against the President, Parliament, Government, High Council of Justice, Prosecutor General, National Bank Council, Auditor General, Public Defender of Georgia, if it considers that a legal act has been adopted/issued or implemented / not implemented which completely or partially violates its constitutional rights.
Anri Okhanashvili, the head of the Parliamentary Legal Committee, explained that the changes allow for resolving the issue of authority between the bodies.
“This initiative will help to enrich and clarify the constitutional justice in a number of issues”, Okhanashvili said.
The parliamentary opposition is convinced that these changes are being made to punish the president.
“You are introducing the mechanism of punishing the President of Georgia”, said Davit Usupashvili, a member of the Lelo party.
A legislative impasse has been created regarding the appointment of ambassadors to Georgia. According to the Constitution, the appointment of ambassadors is the prerogative of the President of Georgia. However, the ruling party believes that the president should simply sign the appointments symbolically, as it is up to the government to determine the foreign policy course and select candidates.
Representatives of the Georgian Dream wanted to go to the Constitutional Court over the issue, but according to the law, it was impossible to appeal the president’s actions or inaction.
The ruling party’s political council issued a four-page letter on March 15 stating that “no one will be able to rewrite the constitution for the president.” The letter states that the Georgian government is “forced” to appeal to the Constitutional Court in the near future and demand confirmation of the violation of the Constitution by the President.
The dissatisfaction of the ruling team was sparked by the president’s parliamentary speech when Zurabishvili entered the session hall to deliver her annual speech with Ukrainian flags and presented photos of the Ukraine war. Zurabishvili demanded that the deputies stand up and watch them. In her speech, Zurabishvili criticized the government for its restrained policy toward Ukraine.
