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The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in its fourth report on the Nomination and the Appointment of Supreme Court Judges in Georgia that the procedure of appointment of six top court justices by the Parliament lacked adequate safeguards, negatively affecting the integrity of the overall process.

The report, released on August 23, said “the shortcomings in the legal framework and the parliamentary appointment process damaged the credibility and representativeness of the Supreme Court judge selection, leading to public criticism on both substantive and procedural grounds.”

It said “overall the proceedings were marred by the lack of equal conditions and deficiencies in the process that ultimately undermined the credibility of the appointments as truly merit-based in line with international standards.”

The report said the candidate hearings before the High Council of Justice, the body overseeing judiciary in Georgia that nominates candidates to the Parliament, “although highly transparent, were marred by variations in conditions, lapses in decorum, internal divisions on the HCJ, and serious conflict of interest issues.”