Prime Minister: The second decade of the Constitutional Court’s 30-year history coincided with the formation of an authoritarian regime – since 2016 the Constitutional Court has been qualitatively freed from the legacy of the authoritarian regime
“The second decade of the Constitutional Court’s 30-year history coincided with the formation of an authoritarian regime in Georgia, one of the main manifestations of which was the infringement of the constitutional order, the undermining of the foundations of constitutionalism, the tailoring of the Constitution of Georgia to one’s own needs, and the diminishing of constitutional institutions,” Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated in his address at the international conference dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Constitutional Court of Georgia.
According to him, this was a period when, because of one specific person – a particular judge of the Constitutional Court – the Constitution was amended twice.
“The Constitution was first amended when that judge did not meet the age requirement, and a second time when the Constitution did not allow for his re-election as President of the Court. This fact particularly vividly demonstrates the gravest face of the authoritarianism of that time, which was directly reflected in the functioning of the Constitutional Court of Georgia. During that period, public trust in the Constitutional Court of Georgia declined extremely. In 2007–2012 the Constitutional Court of Georgia issued an average of 4 decisions per year, which clearly speaks to the state of the Court at that time,” the Prime Minister stated.
He also said that the legacy of the authoritarian regime continued to follow the Constitutional Court of Georgia even after the democratic breakthrough of 2012, in 2013–2016 as well, “when several judges appointed by the regime continued to act under the dictate of the relevant political force.”
“We all remember that period when the President of the Constitutional Court assigned every politically sensitive case to one and the same panel, where he had firm hope of support from judges who were as politically biased as himself. The second decade of the activity of the Constitutional Court of Georgia will remain a dark stain in its history. Fortunately, since 2016 the Constitutional Court of Georgia has been qualitatively freed from the legacy of the authoritarian regime; this was joined by the fundamental constitutional reform carried out in 2017–2018, which raised the standards of human rights protection, brought the system of separation of powers into line with democratic standards, and strengthened the role of the Constitutional Court in the system of government,” Irakli Kobakhidze stated.
At the same time, as Kobakhidze noted, the Constitutional Court of Georgia, as one of the main pillars of Georgia’s constitutional order, plays an extremely important role in the strengthening of Georgian statehood and the development of Georgian constitutionalism.
“I congratulate the Constitutional Court on its 30th anniversary. The Constitutional Court of Georgia, as one of the main pillars of Georgia’s constitutional order, plays an extremely important role in the strengthening of Georgian statehood and the development of Georgian constitutionalism. The 30-year history of the Constitutional Court of Georgia, just like the history of Georgian constitutionalism, has been full of many difficulties. This history can be conditionally divided into three decades. The first decade was the most important period of the establishment of the Constitutional Court of Georgia as a constitutional institution. I would like to thank the first Presidents of the Constitutional Court of Georgia, Avtandil Demetrashvili and Joni Khetsuriani, as well as every judge of the first generation, who laid the foundation for the formation of the Constitutional Court of Georgia as an independent constitutional institution,” the Prime Minister stated.
