Georgian President attends swearing-in ceremony for newly appointed Constitutional Court judges

Georgia’s President Mikheil Kavelashvili attended the solemn swearing-in ceremony for newly appointed Constitutional Court judges Goga Kikilashvili and Sergo Metopishvili on Monday. President Kavelashvili congratulated both magistrates on officially assuming office.

President Kavelashvili appointed Kikilashvili to the bench, while Metopishvili was designated by the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Under the Organic Law on the Constitutional Court of Georgia, a member’s ten-year tenure formally commences on the day the judicial oath is taken.

Addressing the ceremony, President Kavelashvili emphasised the Constitutional Court’s pivotal role and the profound constitutional responsibility resting upon its bench.

According to the presidential administration, the President noted that the Constitution of Georgia encapsulates the nation’s centuries-old historical experience, statehood traditions, and enduring aspiration for liberty, serving to safeguard the fundamental rights and freedoms of every citizen.

President Kavelashvili further highlighted the critical importance of maintaining domestic rule of law and an independent judiciary amidst contemporary geopolitical and international legal challenges. He formally congratulated Kikilashvili and Metopishvili on entering office and wished them professional success in their high judicial duties.

Kikilashvili brings an extensive academic and legal background to the bench. Having completed his doctoral studies in law at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, he pursued advanced professional legal education in Germany and Sweden. He has held academic posts across various higher education institutions, served on the Independent Board of the High School of Justice, and, since 2023, has served as a non-judge member of the High Council of Justice.

Metopishvili possesses multi-year judicial experience, having begun his bench career in 2009. He previously served across district courts and the Tbilisi City Court, where he presided as judge and panel chairman over the Civil and Administrative Cases Chambers. In 2016, the Conference of Judges of Georgia elected him to the High Council of Justice. Before his elevation to the Constitutional Court, he served as a judge on the Investigative Chamber of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals.

Under the Constitution of Georgia, the Constitutional Court comprises nine judges appointed for non-renewable ten-year terms: the Georgian President appoints three members, Parliament elects three, and the Supreme Court designates three others.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended, alongside the President, by sitting Constitutional Court judges, the Chairmen of the Government and Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, and the Mayor of Batumi.