Why Government Delays Discussion of Girgvliani’s Case in Strasbourg Court

Tako Khutsishvili

Case discussion under Civil Law of Georgia ended with quite unrespectable result for Georgian society before the European Court of Human Rights started discussion of Sandro Girgvliani’s murder.  Tbilisi City Court partly satisfied the suit of Girgvliani’s family and imposed payment of compensation of 40 000 GEL on the defendant side. However, the family requested 200 000 GEL as a compensation.

“We wrote in the suit that no compensation could compensate the moral damage of Sandro Girgvliani’s family. Anyway, the court decided to impose only 40 000 GEL on the defense side. Why did not the court satisfy our request and impose 200 000 GEL on them. It should have been clarified in the motivation part of the judgment; though the court has not handed the motivation part to us yet,” said attorney of Girgvliani’s family Shalva Shavgulidze.

The attorney does not exclude the possibility to appeal against the judgment at higher instance court. In parallel to it, soon Shalva Shavgulidze will have to leave for Strasbourg where Girgvliani’s case will be discussed at last.

Initially, the Human Rights European Court in Strasbourg had to start case discussion on February 2, 2010 but the process was postponed by the judge of the Georgian side Nana Tsotsoria who refused to take up the case.

The discussion of this resonant murder was postponed in November of 2009 based on the request of the government of Georgia. The Georgian state had grounded reason for it - lawyers, who were supposed to work on Girgvliani’s case in European Court, were working on the suit against Russia.

Attorney Shalva Shavgulidze does not know why Nona Tsotsoria refused to participate in case discussion. Although when Girgvliani’s case was discussed, Tsotsoria was deputy prosecutor-general, Shavgulidze does not think it is reasonable motive for her decision.

Head of the non-governmental organization Human Rights Priority Lia Mukhashavria thinks Judge Nona Tsotsoria was discharged from the case-discussion on purpose. She thinks, the government of Georgia gained time by her decision in order to satisfy the civil suit of Girgvliani’s family in Georgia. European Court will take this decision into consideration.

Lia Mukhashavria: “When the European Court starts discussion of moral and material damage, they will pay particular attention to the decision of the Tbilisi City Court. In any case, there is similar practice in the Strasbourg Court. When a state pays some compensation to the victim, European Court considers it as a fair decision and states that local courts can make similar decisions. Thus, European Court will envisage this fact if judges are not extremely astonished by the fact and if they do not decide to make different conclusion.”

In accordance to the rules of the European Court, deadline for Georgian state to introduce new judge expired on February 12. According to the Human Rights Center, Judge at the Tbilisi City Court Giorgi Adeishvili will replace Nona Tsotsoria. He will participate only in the discussion of this case and then he will return to Tbilisi.

Sandro Girgvliani’s family brought suit to the European Court of Human Rights in summer of 2007 under 4 articles of the Human Rights European Convention. According to the suit, Georgian state had breached the articles of the Convention which guarantees right to life, prohibits torture, guarantees right to effective defense and to fair trial.

“If the court concludes that right to life and prohibition of torture were breached, the court will impose certain amount of fine on the state. But, if the court concludes that rights to fair trial and effective defense were breached, it will enable us to request re-discussion of the case at the local court,” said Shalva Shavgulidze.