The term for the current chairperson of the Supreme Court Konstantine Kublashvili expires on February 23, 2015. The President called on all interested parties to submit their candidates for this position. The deadline for submissions expired on February 9. Out of the initial 36 candidates 8 refused to be nominated. The final list of candidates published by the President’s Administration included 28 persons. The list includes several well known individuals.

On February 17, 2015 the President nominated his final candidate Nino Gvenetadze to the Parliament. It is now up to the Parliament to make a decision about appointing Gvenetadze as the chairwoman of the Supreme Court. 76 votes are required to invest the President’s candidate.

Due to high public interest, Transparency International Georgia decided to publish a summary of past activities and education of all the candidates submitted for consideration to the President’s Administration.

Nino Gvenetadze

Education:
In 1985 - 1990 Gvenetadze graduated from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law and became a Doctor of Law.

In 1990 - 1993 she studied at the Institute of State and Law at the Georgian Academy of Sciences.

In 1999 - 2008 she first worked as docent at the Criminal Law and Criminology Department of Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law and later became an associate professor.

Career:
In 1994 - 1999 Nino Gvenetadze worked as deputy head of the Department of Public Law at the Ministry of Justice. In 1994 - 2001 she was a member of a committee drafting a new Criminal Code within the State Commission for Legal Reform.

In 1998 - 1999 she headed the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association.

Since 1999 Gvenetadze had served as a judge of the Criminal Cases Chamber at the Supreme Court. On December 22, 2005, she was dismissed by the Disciplinary Board of the High Council of Justice. She and three other judges were charged with professional misconduct.

Nino Gvenetadze also engaged in academic activities. She was an associate professor at Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law, and worked as a guest professor at Georgian University of Social Sciences, Georgian American University, Caucasus Business School and Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association.

Gvenetadze ran for the 2008 parliamentary elections in Khashuri representing the Republican Party. She left the Republican Party after November 2012.

Since 2007 Gvenetadze has been the director of the Ph.D. and Masters Program and a professor of the School of Law, Social Science and Diplomacy at the Georgian American University.

Nino Gvenetadze was also a member of a 14 member group working on issues of political prisoners and exiles created on November 1, 2012, within the Parliamentary Committee for Human Rights and Civil Integration.

Companies:

• Nino Gvenetadze is a board member of the following companies: Public Tribunal for the Rule of Law (nonprofit), Georgian Lawyers' Union (nonprofit), Legal Education Assistance Foundation (nonprofit), Refugee and Minority Problems Institute (nonprofit), Center of Dual Vocational Education and Continuous Education of Adults (nonprofit).

Zakaria Kutsnashvili

Education:

Graduated from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law.

Career:

1992 - 1995 – Deputy director of an insurance company “Argani”

1995 - 1999 – Leading specialist at the Parliament’s Office

1998 - 1999 – Member of the Tbilisi City Council, commission chairman

1999 - 2004 – Member of Parliament, first deputy chairman of the Legal Committee

2001 - 2004 – Member of the Georgian Anti-Corruption Council

2004 - 2006 – Senior lecturer at Tbilisi Sulkhan-Saba Pedagogical University

2005 - 2006 – Director of Legal Department at the Wholesale Electricity Market Association (union)

2005 - 2012 – Chairman of the association “Law for People”, author and host of the educational radio project “Law for People”

2006 - 2012 – Lawyer (civil law), member of the Georgian Bar Association, senior partner at  a single partner Law Firm - Zakaria Kutsnashvili’s Law Firm

2006 - 2012 – Director of Zakaria Kutsnashvili Law Firm Ltd.

2007 - 2012 – Lecturer at Caucasus School of Law

2007 - 2012 – Head of Legal Service at the Georgian Patriarchate

Companies and organizations:

• Georgian Patriarchate’s Telephone-Information and Psychological Support Service – Tanadgoma (nonprofit) – Board Member
• Georgia in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (nonprofit) – Board Member
• Club of Independent Experts – Board Member
• K&K Consulting Ltd.– shareholder (60%)
• Law Firm for Migrants Ltd.– shareholder (55%)
• Lawyers for the Oppressed  Ltd.– shareholder (40%)

Shalva Shavgulidze

Education:

Graduated from Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law.

Career:

1988 - 1991 – Junior Research Fellow of Healthcare Economics and Management Research Laboratory at the Ministry of Healthcare

1991 - 1992 – Prosecutor at the Criminal Cases Department of the General Prosecutor

Since 1996 – Lawyer at the Georgian Bar Association

Since 1999 – Founder of a Lawyers Union “Protsesi”

In 2009 he joined Irakli Alasania’s political team. Founder and board member of Free Democrats.

Since 2012 he has been a majoritarian MP, representing the district of Vake.

High-profile cases:

Shavgulidze used to represent the rights of the Girgvliani family.

Companies:

• Georgian Pointer Club (nonprofit) - Member of the Board.

Levan Murusidze

Education:

In 1998 Murusidze graduated from Tbilisi Technical University Faculty of Law.

Career:

2000 - 2004 – Judge’s Assistant at Tbilisi District Court Investigative Panel

2004 - 2005 – Assistant to Gori regional prosecutor

2005 – Judge at Tbilisi City Court Criminal Cases Panel

Since 2006 – Judge at the Supreme Court

Since 2013 – Elected as a member and secretary of the High Council of Justice by the Conference of Judges

High-profile cases:

In 2005 Levan Murusidze took part in the dismissal process and disciplinary proceedings against four Supreme Court judges (Merab Turava, Nino Gvenetadze, Tamar Laliashvili and Murman Isaev).

On July 27, 2007 Murusidze participated as a judge in ruling of the Court of Cassation that reduced the sentences of persons accused of Sandro Girgvliani’s murder. The court made its final decision based solely on the prosecutor's request.

Apart from the Girgvliani case, Murusidze was involved in one other high-profile case. On June 23, 2006 under Murusidze’s chairmanship the Criminal Cases Chamber of the Court of Cassation sentenced the former chairman of the Chamber of Control Sulkhan Molashvili to 8 years in prison.

Inga Todria

Inga Todria made her first law degree from Immanuel Kant State University of Russia. She successfully passed first qualification examination for judges of Georgia in 1998.

In 2008, Inga Todria obtained Master of Law degree from Pennsylvania State University where she studied comparative law as a recepient of the  US Department of State Edmund Muskie Scholarship.

From 1987 till 1998 Inga Tordia worked as a judge at Kutaisi City Court dealing with Criminal and Civil cases. From 1998 to 2004 she has been a chairwoman of Administrative and Tax Law Chamber at Tbilisi District Court. From May 1998 to October 1998 Inga Tordia was an Appeals Civil Chamber Judge. In 2008 (May - August) she worked as a legal advisor at the open World Leadership Center. From September 2004 until November 2010 Inga Tordia was the Senior Lawyer at the Georgian National Communication Commission. From 2010 she has been working as a Judicial Reform Advisor at the East West Management Institute.

Inga Todria is currently a member of Georgian Bar Association and the US Department of State Alumni Assocaition. In 2003-2004, Inga Todria was a board member of Judges Association of Georgia, and an executive board member of Open Society-Soros Foundation of Georgia, in 2000-2004.

Gia Meparishvili

In 1983 Meparishvili graduated from Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law. In 1984 - 1987 he studied at the Institute of State and Law of the Moscow Academy of Sciences.

Career:

1988-2009 – Associate Professor at Tbilisi State University

1999 - 2001 – Member of Parliament, chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee

2001 – General Prosecutor of Georgia

1996 - 1999 – Deputy chairman of the Constitutional Court

2004 - 2008 – Majoritarian Member of Parliament representing Baghdati district

Since 2011 – Professor of Criminal Law at Caucasus International University Faculty of Law

2009 - 2011 – Professor and head of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Program at Tbilisi University of Economic Relations

Since 2011 – Professor of Criminal Law at Caucasus International University Faculty of Law

Ana Dolidze

Education:

In 2002 Dolidze graduated from Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law. In 2004 she received a Master's Degree from University of Leiden. In 2012 she was awarded a Doctorate Degree from Cornell Law School.

Career:

2002 – Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Hague

2010 - 2011 – Consultant at World Bank Group

2008 - 2009 – Researcher, Human Rights Watch, Europe and Central Asia Program

2004 - 2006 – Chairwoman of the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association

2008 - Researcher, Russian Justice Initiative, the effects of the Russian-Georgian conflict on human rights

2007 - 2008 – Researcher / lecturer at New York University Law School, New York

2008 – Professor, Bard College, New York

2010 – Professor, Hobart and William Smith College, New York.

Mariam Tsiskadze

Education:

Tsiskadze graduated from Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law in 1982.

Career:

1982 - 1991 – Research Fellow at the Institute of Economics and Law of the Georgian Academy of Sciences

1989 - 2005 – Docent at Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law

1998 - 2005 – Member of the judge qualification exam committee  

1991 - 1997 – Member of the State Commission for drafting the new Civil Code

1991 - 1999 – Judge at Tbilisi City Court

1999 – Chairwoman of the Tbilisi District Court’s Chamber of Civil, Industrial and Bankruptcy Appeals

1999 - 2009 – Judge at the Supreme Court

2009 - 2010 – Deputy head of National Bank Legal Department

2000 - 2012 – Judge and lawyer training expert in the field of civil law and ethics in legal professions. Trainings were organized by the American Bar Association and the German Society for International Cooperation

2005 - 2013 – Lecturer at the High School of Justice

Since 2010 – Member of the Georgian Bar Association

2010 - 2012 – Expert in access to justice and protection of human rights under the United Nations Development Program

2012 - 2013 – Notary

Since 2013 – Advisory Board member of the Parliamentary Committee for Healthcare and Social Affairs

Companies and organizations:

• Director of  Mariam Tsiskadze Center for Education in the Fields of Law and Psycho-Social Upbringing (nonprofit)
• Innovative Business and Law Center Ltd. - 25% shareholder

Mamuka Akhvlediani

Education:

Akhvlediani graduated from N. Muskhelishvili Kutaisi Technical University in 1995. In 1997 he graduated from the Gelati Theological College. In 1999 he graduated from Akaki Tsereteli Kutaisi State University Faculty of Law.

Career:

1997 - 1999 – Lawyer/consultant at Imereti Customer Union

1999 – Reception consultant at Kutaisi District Court

1999 - 2005 – Chief specialist of the Criminal Cases College Chancellery at the Supreme Court General Department

2005 – Head of the Board of the Criminal Cases College

2005 - 2007 – Head of the Supreme Court Chairman’s Office

2007 - 2012 – Judge and chairman of Rustavi City Court

Since 2012 – Chairman of Tbilisi City Court

2013 – Chairman of the Independent Board of the High School of Justice

Companies and organizations:

• Mamuka Akhvlediani is a member of the Georgian National Association of Lawyers (nonprofit).

Eva Gotsiridze

Education:

Gotsiridze graduated from Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law in 1987.

Career:

1995 - 1999 – Member of the governmental commission for drafting the Criminal Code, member of the Editorial Board of a magazine Herald of Justice

1996 - 1997 – Scientific internship at Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

1997 - 2000 – Member of the Council of Justice

Since 2000 – Director of the Supreme Court Human Rights Center

2010 - 2013 – Contracted employee of the European Court of Human Rights on the issues of processing the Strasbourg court jurisprudence and translating it to national languages

Since 2011 – Guest specialist at the Patriarchate’s St. Andrew Georgian University

Since 2005 – The Georgian Supreme Court Adviser to the European Court of Human Rights

Since 2013 – Member of the High Council of Justice

Merab Gabinashvili

Education:

Gabinashvili graduated from Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law in 1996.

Career:

1990 - 1992 – Interpreter at Tbilisi Gldani District Court

1992 - 1997 – Assistant investigator at the Ministry of Internal Affairs Investigation Department

1997 - 2000 – Investigator and later senior investigator at the Kvemo Kartli Regional Investigation Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Investigation Department

Since 2000 – Investigator and later senior investigator of especially important cases at the Ministry of Internal Affairs Investigation Department

2005 - 2006 – Investigator at the Ministry of Finance Financial Police Investigation Department

2006 - 2007 – Judge at Gori District Court

2007 - 2009 – Judge at Kutaisi City Court and Zestaponi District Court

2009 - 2012 – Judge and chairman of Zestaponi District Court

Since November 27, 2012 – Judge at Tbilisi Court of Appeals and chairman of the Investigation College

Irakli Burduli

Education:

Burduli graduated from Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law in 2000. In 1998 - 2001 he studied at the German Studies Institute and the Paris Lodron University Faculty of Law (Austria, Salzburg). Doctoral thesis on: Property Relations within a Joint Stock Company (during its formation) based on Georgian and Austrian Laws

Career:

2002 – Chief Specialist, Constitutional Court Legal Support Department

2002 - 2004 – Independent lawyer, law firm (joint liability company) Ioseliani and Aslanishvili

2003 – Civil Law Bar Examination

2004 – Applicant lecturer at Tinatin Tsereteli Institute of State and Law

2004 - 2005 – Head of the Civil Division of Judge Ethics and Disciplinary Legal Proceedings at the High Council of Justice

2005 - 2008 – The Supreme Court Chairman’s Office

2006 - Certificate on: The Activities of Mortgage Banks (Warsaw, Poland)

2006 - 2008 – Deputy Director of Tinatin Tsereteli Institute of State and Law

2006 - 2008 – Assistant Professor at Tbilisi State University of Economic Relations

2007 – Guest Lecturer (Associate Professor) at Grigol Robakidze University

2008 - 2009 – Associate Professor, Caucasus School of Law

2008 - 2012 – Associate Professor, Tbilisi State University

Since 2008 – Dean of the Faculty of Law, Tbilisi State University

Since 2012 – Professor, Tbilisi State University

Gocha Gogishvili

Education:

Gogishvili graduated from Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law In 1995, and received his graduate degree from the same university in 1998 (Faculty of Law, Department of Civil Law).

Career:

1995 - 2001 – Member of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association

1997 - 1999 – Has worked on the following draft laws: Civil Procedure Code, advocacy, arbitration, legal entities of public law (Bremen, Germany; Frankfurt, Germany), institutional development of the Georgian Parliament (Strasbourg, France; Paris, France; Lisbon, Portugal)

1998 - 2002 – Legal adviser and board member; Insurance Association of Georgia, Tbilisi (Georgia)

1999 - 2002 – Member of a Committee of Experts working to ensure the compliance of Georgian legislation with the November 4, 1950 European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

1995 - 1996 – Lawyer, JSC Expo Georgia

1996 - 1999 – Leading Specialist, Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Law and Legal Issues

1999 - 2002 – Partner, law firm International Law Firm Ltd.

Since 2002 – Partner, law firm (joint liability company) Amirashvili, Gogishvili and Shengelia (International Law Firm)

Since 2014 – Board Member of the Georgian Association of Law Firms

Davit Asatiani

Education:

Asatiani graduated from Tbilisi Institute of Law and Economics in 1995. In 1997 he graduated from Tbilisi State University Faculty of International Law and International Relations. He continued his graduate studies at Tbilisi State University and graduated in 2001.

Career:

Since 2005 – Managing Partner of Asatiani and Lawyers

Since 2005 – Member of the Legal Entity of Public Law (LEPL) Georgian Bar Association

2006 - 2010 – Board Member of the LEPL Georgian Bar Association

2008 - 2010 – Representative of the Georgian bar Association in CCBE (The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe)

2009 - 2013 – Founder and Chairman of a non-governmental organization Georgian Lawyers for an Independent Profession (GLIP)

Since 2010 – Co-chairman of the Lawyers and Judges Work Group

2012 - 2013 – Member (chairman) of the Steering Committee of the Coalition for Independent and Transparent Justice

Since December 2013 – Member of the Executive Council of the Georgian Bar Association

High-profile cases:

Davit Asatianin represented the Omega Group in a dispute over Iberia TV’s broadcasting license. Iberia group claimed that they were forced to give up their broadcasting license, which was later purchased by Georgian Media Production Group - owner of the Imedi TV station.

Davit Asatiani also represented Joseph Kay in a dispute over the Rustavi metallurgical plant. He defended the interests of Joseph Kay, who, in turn, challenged ownership rights of Badri Patarkatsishvili's family. The dispute contained several parts and is not fully settled to this day.

Companies and organizations:

• Permanent Private Arbitration - Legisti Ltd. – director / shareholder (100%)
• Law Firm Davit Asatiani and Lawyers   LLP – director / shareholder (80%)
• Asatiani and Lawyers Ltd. – shareholder (60%)

None of these companies participate in public procurement.

Davit Koghuashvili

Education:

Koghuashvili graduated from Tbilisi State University and received a Law Degree in international law in 1992. In 1995 he graduated from John Marshall Law School (Chicago, USA) and earned a Master's Degree in US tax law.

Career:

1992 - 1994 – Prosecutor in the Draft Law Examination Department, Prosecutor's Office

1995 - 1997 – Senior Inspector, Profit Tax Department, Central Office of the State Tax Inspection; later became chief lawyer of the Complaints and Disputes Department

1997 - 1998 – Lawyer at Swiss-Georgian joint venture Iori Valley Ltd.; later - commercial director

1998 - 1999 – Legal Advisor to the President of the National Bank and deputy head of the Department of Supervision of Commercial Banks  

1999 - 2004 – Member of Parliament (United National Movement party list), first deputy chairman of the Income and Tax Committee, member of the Legal Affairs Committee, first deputy chairman of the Education, Science, Culture and Sports Committee; one of the founders of the New Rights faction

2005 - 2010 – Director and coordinator (from the Georgian side) of a EU funded project - Supporting the Tax Administrative Reform

2009 - 2010 – Director of the Tax and Customs Department, Georgian Business Association

Tamar Laliashvili

Education:

Laliashvili graduated from Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law in 1988.

Career:

1992 - 1993 – Consultant at the Georgian Citizenship Issues Department, Ministry of Justice

1993 - 1999 – Prosecutor at the Chief Prosecutor's Office

1997 - 1998 – Internship in Germany, Bremen City Court and Prosecutor's Office (Friedrich Ebert Foundation)

1999 - 2000 – Judge at Mtatsminda-Krtsanisi Regional Court

2000 - 2001 – District Court Judge

2001 - 2006 – Judge at the Supreme Court

2007 - 2010 – Research Fellow at University of Bremen Faculty of Law

Roin Migriauli

Education:

1985 - 1991 – Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law

1992 - 2004 – Institute of State and Law, Georgian Academy of Sciences

1995 - 1997 – University of Bremen (Germany), scientific internship, DAAD scholarship

2006 – University of Bremen (Germany), scientific research, DAAD scholarship

Career:

1990 – Deputy head of Legal Department at the Central Election Commission

1990 - 1995 – Consultant, Ministry of Justice, later became a department head

1995 - 1998 – Member of a State Commission for Legal Reform

1997 - 1999 – Independent lawyer, Roin Migriauli’s Law Firm

1999 - 2000 – Founder, managing partner and lawyer of a law firm Migriauli and Pataraia

Since 2000 – Managing partner and lawyer of a law firm Migriauli and Partners

Since 2004 – Member of a Scientific Advisory Council of the Constitutional Court

Since 2006 – Member of the Executive Board of the Georgian Bar Association

Since 2010 – Founder and board member of Georgian Lawyers for an Independent Profession (nonprofit)

Madona Ghibradze

Education:

Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law

Career:

1999 - 2005 – Judge at Tbilisi City Court’s Chambers of Civil and Administrative Cases

2008 - 2012 – Arbiter at a permanent arbitration Dispute Resolution Center

Since 2012 – Senior Prosecutor at the Anti-Corruption Department of the Chief Prosecutor's Office

Giorgi Jugheli

Education:

In 2005 Jugheli received his PhD in Law from the University of Bremen (Germany).

Career:

Adviser of commercial law for the USAID's Judicial Independence and Legal Empowerment Project (EWMI-JILEP).

2008 - 2010 Jugheli worked at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law (Hamburg, Germany). He also has experience in practicing civil and corporate laws.

Avtandil Kakhniashvili

In September 2014 Kakhniashvili sued the Dean of the Faculty of Law at Tbilisi State University Irakli Burduli for forging documents. The case concerned appointing of Vakhtang Mchedlishvili as a member of the High Council of Justice. Burduli issued a recommendation for Mchedlishvili. Kakhniashvili claimed that the recommendation was fake and that it contained untrue information about the candidate.

Kakhniashvili also argued that the five cross national flag was illegal, since it was approved by a Parliament that had an expired term.

Aleksi Kobaidze

Kobaidze had previously accused a civil society organization Identoba of inciting ethnic, national and religious hatred. He claimed that the organization fights for rights that have never been violated in Georgia and called Identoba’s actions anti-state.

Kobaidze had also made a statement about the events of May 17, 2013 accusing the media of a biased coverage.

Koba Kobakhidze

Koba Kobakhidze is a practicing lawyer and has recently been representing Emzar Kvitsiani.

Other candidates - Mamuka Mdinaradze, Nodar Miladze, Murman Kamadadze, Marine Chkonia, Romuli Japaridze, Teimuraz Jorbenadze, are all practicing lawyers.