Shalva Papuashvili: Appealing to the court regarding the constitutionality of a party is a right guaranteed by the Constitution - statements made in a threatening tone by foreign authorities speak of a failure to understand the norms of democracy

It is disturbing, the content and tone of the statements made in recent days by certain foreign officials in connection with the ongoing consideration in the Constitutional Court of Georgia, — Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia Shalva Papuashvili writes.

As the Speaker of Parliament notes, appealing to the Constitutional Court regarding the constitutionality of any party is a right of the members of the Parliament of Georgia guaranteed by the Constitution.

According to him, questioning the legitimacy of the legal proceedings before the Constitutional Court has substantively examined the case is a gross interference in the independence of the court and a violation of the principle of the rule of law.

“It is disturbing, the content and tone of the statements made in recent days by certain foreign officials in connection with the ongoing consideration in the Constitutional Court of Georgia.

I will remind everyone that appealing to the Constitutional Court regarding the constitutionality of any party is a right of the members of the Parliament of Georgia guaranteed by the Constitution. Making statements in a threatening tone by foreign authorities because of the exercise of this right by the representatives of the people speaks of a failure to understand the norms of democracy and violates the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of another country.

At the same time, such statements are an attempt at pressure and threats against the Constitutional Court of Georgia. Questioning the legitimacy of the legal proceedings before the Constitutional Court has substantively examined the case is a gross interference in the independence of the court and a violation of the principle of the rule of law.

Those foreign rulers who comment on the court processes ongoing in Georgia without understanding them at all should show elementary restraint and respect for the rule of law.

I will remind everyone that it has been confirmed more than once by the European Court of Human Rights that the superficial and biased statements made from abroad regarding Georgian justice were groundless. These foreign officials to this day still owe an apology to Georgia and the Georgian court for the groundless attacks in the cases of Saakashvili, Melia, Gvaramia, ‘Rustavi 2’ and many other cases. Therefore everyone should show restraint so that a new debt of apology is not added to the old, still unpaid debt,” Papuashvili writes.