EC Report: Georgia must launch broader judicial reform and establish an extraordinary integrity checks with a decisive international role

“Georgia must initiate a broader reform of the judiciary,” the European Commission’s report scheduled for official publication today reads.

The report notes that the High Council of Justice should be reformed in line with Venice Commission recommendations.

“Moreover, establish a system of extraordinary integrity checks, with the involvement of international experts with a decisive role in the process, for candidates and for people currently appointed to all leading positions in the judiciary, in particular the HCJ, the Supreme Court and Common Court presidents,” reads the European Commission report set to be published today.

The European Commission’s enlargement report is due for publication today, though key excerpts have begun circulating ahead of its release. The document notes that “a few individuals who had been arbitrarily detained in relation to the 2024-2025 protests were pardoned by the President, after admitting guilt. However, many more remain in custody.” Furthermore, the report highlights that “the Prime Minister’s announcement in November 2024 that the government would not pursue the opening of accession negotiations until 2028 contradicts the priorities set out in the Constitution,” adding that “the authorities’ declared aspiration to join the EU continued to be fundamentally contradicted by their systematic engagement in hostile anti-EU rhetoric, manipulative narratives and conspiracy theories.”