Among the issues included in the agenda of the High Council of Justice of Georgia’s on 17^th of July, 2014, session are the following: secondment of Judges to the Courts they have been seconded; transfer of Mr. Shota Getsadze, Chairman of the Tbilisi City Court Administrative Collegium, to Tbilisi Appeal Court; and appointment of the Tbilisi City Court Administrative Collegium Chairman.

Under the organic law of Georgia on Common Courts, "the Appellate and District (City) Court judges are appointed by the High Council of Justice". The same law provides that in case of vacancy in the position, the appointed judges may be appointed as lower, corresponding or superior instance court judges upon their own consent without holding a competition. 

The organic law on Common Courts stipulates that in order for a candidate to be appointed as judge, he/she shall need support of no less than two thirds of the Council members. In addition, the legislation does not provide for the possibility of taking decisions to promote judges or transfer them from one judicial position to another by less than two thirds of the Council members.

We hope that the inclusion of the issue of the judge "transfer" to another position on the July 17^th session agenda does not signify that the High Council of Justice is going to evade the law and appoint judges by a simple majority of votes.

The agenda of the High Council of Justice’s session also provides for the development of the Action Plan for the Judiciary pursuant to the EU Association Agreement. We believe that the High Council of Justice of Georgia should conduct its activities in a more transparent manner and be accountable to judges as well as the general public. Therefore, the organizations signatories to this statement identify the necessity to hold public discussions of the draft Action Plan. At the same time, we come forward with the initiative to set up a joint working group involving various stakeholders such as the High Council of Justice, judges, and local and international non-governmental organizations. 

Unity of Judges of Georgia, Georgian Young Lawyers' Association and Transparency International Georgia call upon the High Council of Justice to:

• Strictly adhere to the statutory requirements when deciding on the procedure to  appoint judges to other courts on a non-competitive basis;
• Set up a working group that will develop the Action Plan for the Judiciary pursuant to the EU Association Agreement.