Transparency International Georgia commissioned a public opinion survey which shows that trust in the judiciary in Georgia is very low. A large part of the population believes that judges with a history of making unjust decisions under political pressure should not be working in the judiciary. Majority of respondents also think that staffing the courts with completely new judges is the solution.

The survey was commissioned by Transparency International Georgia and conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) in the period from February 20 to March 5, 2019. With a total of 2,087 respondents being interviewed throughout the country, the representative survey has a margin of error of 2.3%.

The survey revealed that the judiciary is one of the least trusted institutions in the country.

Graph #1: The judiciary is one of the least trusted institutions in the country.

53% of the population believes that the judiciary is under the influence of the ruling party, and 50% thinks that the court system is not fair.

Graph #2: 53% of the population believes that the judiciary is under the influence of the ruling party.

The survey also showed that 43% of the population believes there is an influential group of judges (a clan) in the judiciary, of which 87% thinks that the clan enjoys the support of the ruling party, and 94% thinks that the members of the clan should leave the judiciary. The survey also showed that a large majority (83%) of the population believes that judges with a history of making unjust decisions under political pressure should not be working in the judiciary.

Graph #3: 43% of the population believes that there is an influencial group of jusdges (a clan) in the judiciary.

Graph #4: Of those surveyed who believe in the existence of a judicial clan, 87% thinks that the clan enjoys the support of current government officials.

Graph #4: Of those surveyed who believe in the existence of a judicial clan, 87% thinks that the clan enjoys the support of current government officials.

Graph #6: The large majority (83%) of the population believes that judges with a history of making unjust decisions under political pressure should not be working in the judiciary.

As for possible solutions to the above challenges, 46% of respondents believe that the courts should be staffed with completely new judges in order for the judiciary to regain trust, and 41% thinks that the government should not interfere in judicial affairs.

Graph #7: As a way to increase trust in the judiciary, the largest portion of the population (46%) thinks that the courts should be staffed by completely new judges, while 41% think that the government should not interfere in the judiciary.