Human Rights Center addressed the High Council of Justice to react to the faulty practice of common courts

Today, on April 15, 2020, Human Rights Center addressed the Secretary of the High Council of Justice to respond to the closure of court hearings and other miscarriages in the court proceedings in the course of state of emergency. 

On March 13, 2020, prior to the declaration of a state of emergency, the High Council of Justice (HCOJ) adopted recommendations to prevent spreading of the COVID-19. The recommendations are related to the measures to be implemented in the court system to ensure a gradual transition of court proceedings to a remote regime. This is a positive development. However, it is important to ensure openness of court proceedings and enable court monitors and other interested parties to observe trials. 

The recommendations adopted by the HCOJ also refer to the restriction of the number of attendees of court hearings, including representatives of media. This, naturally, does not imply the closure of proceedings and a complete prohibition of attendance. However, the majority of Tbilisi City Court judges have been fully restricting attendance of proceedings. The practice has been inconsistent with this regard. Some criminal trial judges allow representatives of monitoring organizations to attend trials, while the majority of judges restrict their attendance by wrongfully citing the regulations. Thus, they disregard the existing regulations and establish a faulty practice. 

Human Rights Center addressed the chairman of the Tbilisi City Court Nikoloz Marsagishvili with regard to the identified miscarriages in the court on March 23 but there was no reaction from him. The malicious practice continues – trials continue in closed regime. 

Above that, on April 13, Coalition for the Independent and Transparent Judiciary, whose member HRC is, released public statement on the closure of court hearings in common courts of Georgia and other related problems under a state of emergency. The Coalition called on the High Council of Justice and chairs of the common courts: to immediately address the detected shortcomings of court proceedings with an aim of preventing the violation of one of the most important elements of the right to fair trial – the principle of openness, and avoiding a full restriction of openness of court proceedings; while holding hearings remotely, as established by the Presidential Decree, to ensure interested persons’ (including court monitors’) uninterrupted access to court proceedings, in addition to providing for the participation of parties.

One more fact that demonstrates the faulty practice in the courts – today, the Tbilisi City Court remotely held hearing of the criminal case against Irakli Okruashvili, leader of the political party Victorious Georgia. HRC monitor, already for the third time, was not allowed to observe the court hearing. According to the previous experience, the judge does not allow the HRC monitors to attend the hearings in the court room or remotely. 

Therefore, today, HRC officially addressed the secretary of the HCoJ Giorgi Mikauatadze to promptly respond to the abovementioned problems and requested to allow impartial observers to monitor the proceedings into the criminal cases remotely that requires official confirmation of the court to have access to the respective URL. The HRC also requested reaction to the miscarriages identified in the court proceedings in the Tbilisi City Court not to violate one of the key elements of the fair trial – principle of openness and allow the monitors to personally or remotely attend the hearings of high profile criminal cases. 

Human Rights Center