“When meeting with the opposition and non-governmental sector over judicial reform issues, we ask them to demonstrate cases that show some systemic problems and unfair decisions in the court. They cannot name any,” said Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.

According to the Speaker, the ruling Georgian Dream party “closed the issue of vetting.”

Shalva Papuashvili explained that for one month, he had led the working format with the involvement of the opposition and NGO sector, the discussion focused on specific problems and fair judiciary, but the opposition and NGOs “turned out to be liars in everything every time.”

Papuashvili recalled the cases of Mikheil Saakashvili, Nika Melia, and Gigi Ugulava, the court decisions that went to the Strasbourg-based court.

“There are cases everywhere and in the end, it turned out that the Georgian judiciary was right and those who accused it of politicization were wrong. Rather than receiving apologies from the opposition, NGOs, and certain embassies to the judges, what we observe is a stance that advocates for the abolition of the Constitution, forget about independence, and say that we are people who are incapable of ruling the country, and as one of our citizens said, we should stand on one leg and do what they tell. Let the opposition run in the 2024 elections with this slogan and see the comeback,” he said.

On March 18, Mamuka Mdinaradze, the leader of the parliamentary majority, declared that the issue of vetting was “closed once and forever for the ruling team.”