Georgia 1995 Constitution (reviewed 2018)

Chapter Six. Judiciary and Prosecutor’s Office

Article 59. Judiciary

1. Judicial power shall be independent and exercised by the Constitutional Court of Georgia and the common courts of Georgia.
2. The Constitutional Court of Georgia is a judicial body of constitutional control. The procedure for its creation and activity shall be determined by the organic law.
3. Justice shall be administered by common courts. Specialised courts may be created only within the system of common courts. A military court may be created during martial law and only within the system of common courts. The creation of extraordinary courts shall be inadmissible. In common courts, cases shall be heard by juries in cases defined by law and in accordance with the established procedure. The system of common courts, their authority and procedure for activity shall be determined by the organic law.

Article 60. Constitutional Court of Georgia

1. The Constitutional Court of Georgia shall exercise judicial power through constitutional legal proceedings.
2. The Constitutional Court shall consist of nine judges appointed for a term of 10 years, out of which three judges shall be appointed by the President of Georgia, three judges shall be elected by Parliament by a majority of at least three fifths of the total number of its members, and three judges shall be appointed by the Supreme Court. A judge of the Constitutional Court shall be a citizen of Georgia who has attained the age of 35, has obtained a higher legal education, has at least 10 years of specialised professional experience and a distinguished professional qualification. A judge of the Constitutional Court shall not have previously held this office.
3. The Constitutional Court shall elect a chairperson from among its members for a term of 5 years. A person who has already held the position of chairperson of the Constitutional Court shall not be re-elected.
4. The Constitutional Court of Georgia shall in accordance with the procedures established by the organic law:
   1. review the constitutionality of a normative act with respect to the fundamental human rights enshrined in Chapter Two of the Constitution on the basis of a claim submitted by a natural person, a legal person or the Public Defender;
   2. make decisions on the constitutionality of a normative act on the basis of a claim submitted by the President of Georgia, by at least one fifth of the Members of Parliament, or by the Government;
   3. on the basis of a submission by a common court, review the constitutionality of a normative act to be applied by the common court when hearing a particular case, and which may contravene the Constitution according to a reasonable assumption of the court;
   4. review disputes about the competences of a respective body on the basis of a claim submitted by the President of Georgia, Parliament, the Government, the High Council of Justice, the General Prosecutor, the Board of National Bank, the General Auditor, the Public Defender or the supreme representative or executive body of an autonomous republic;
   5. review the constitutionality of international treaties on the basis of a claim submitted by the President of Georgia, the Government, or by at least one fifth of the Members of Parliament;
   6. review the constitutionality of activities of a political party, or of the termination of powers of a member of the representative body elected upon nomination by this political party, on the basis of a claim submitted by the President of Georgia, the Government, or by at least one fifth of the Members of Parliament;
   7. review the constitutionality of Parliament’s decision to acknowledge or prematurely terminate the powers of a Member of Parliament, on the basis of a claim submitted by at least one fifth of the Members of Parliament or the respective individual;
   8. review disputes related to norms regulating referendums or elections, and the constitutionality of referendums and elections held or to be held based on these norms, on the basis of a claim submitted by the President of Georgia, by at least one fifth of the Members of Parliament, or by the Public Defender;
   9. review the constitutionality of a normative act with respect to Chapter Nine of the Constitution on the basis of a claim submitted by the representative body of a local self-government;
   10. exercise other powers determined by the Constitution.
5. A judgment of the Constitutional Court shall be final. An act or a part thereof that has been recognised as unconstitutional shall cease to have legal effect as soon as the respective judgment of the Constitutional Court is made public, unless the relevant judgment envisages a later time frame for invalidating the act or a part thereof.
6. A legal norm regulating elections shall not be recognised as unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court within the respective election year, unless this norm has been adopted within 15 months before the month of the respective elections.
7. The appointment of judges of the Constitutional Court and the termination of their terms of office, as well as the constitutional legal proceedings and other issues related to the activities of the Constitutional Court, shall be determined by the organic law.

Article 61. Supreme Court of Georgia

1. The Supreme Court of Georgia shall be the Court of Cassation.
2. The Supreme Court shall consist of at least 28 judges. Upon nomination by the High Council of Justice, the judges of the Supreme Court shall be elected for life, until they reach the age established by the organic law, by a majority of the total number of the Members of Parliament.
3. Upon nomination by the High Council of Justice, Parliament shall elect a Chairperson of the Supreme Court from among the members of the Supreme Court for a term of 10 years by a majority of the total number of the Members of Parliament. A person who has already held the position of chairperson of the Supreme Court shall not be re-elected.

Article 62. Judicial proceedings

1. A court shall award a judgment on behalf of Georgia. Judicial acts shall be binding. Failure to comply with a court judgment or interference with the execution of a court judgment shall be punishable by law.
2. Court judgments may be annulled, changed or suspended only by court, in accordance with the procedures established by law. Other procedures for releasing from a sentence and commuting the unserved part of a sentence shall be determined by law.
3. Court hearings shall be open. Closed hearings shall be permitted only in cases provided for by law. A court judgment shall be declared publicly.
4. Legal proceedings shall be conducted in the official language. An individual who does not have a command of the official language shall be provided with an interpreter.
5. Legal proceedings shall be conducted on the basis of equality of arms and the adversarial process.

Article 63. Judge

1. A judge shall be independent in his/her activity and shall only comply with the Constitution and law. Any pressure upon a judge or any interference in his/her activity in order to influence his/her decision-making shall be prohibited and punishable by law. No one shall have the right to demand an account concerning a particular case from a judge. All acts restricting the independence of a judge shall be null and void.
2. A judge shall enjoy immunity. Criminal proceedings against a judge, his/her arrest or detention, and searches of his/her place of residence, place of work, vehicle or person shall be permitted only with the consent of the High Council of Justice and, in the case of a judge of the Constitutional Court, with the consent of the Constitutional Court. An exception may be made if a judge is caught at the crime scene, in which case the High Council of Justice or the Constitutional Court, respectively, shall be notified immediately. Unless the High Council of Justice or the Constitutional Court, respectively, consents to the detention, the detained judge shall be released immediately.
3. The State shall ensure the security of a judge and his/her family.
4. The office of a judge shall be incompatible with any other office and remunerative activities, except for academic and pedagogical activities. A judge shall not be a member of a political party or participate in a political activity.
5. A judge of the common courts may be removed from consideration of a case, dismissed or moved to another position only in cases defined by the organic law. The irremovability of a judge shall be guaranteed by the organic law. The reorganisation or liquidation of the court shall not be the basis for dismissing a judge appointed for life.
6. A judge of the common courts shall be a citizen of Georgia who has attained the age of 30, has a relevant higher legal education and at least 5 years of specialised professional experience. Additional qualification requirements for judges of the common courts shall be defined by the organic law. Judges of the common courts shall be appointed for life until they reach the age established by the organic law. Judges of the common courts shall be selected based on their conscientiousness and competence. The decision to appoint a judge shall be made by a majority of at least two thirds of the total number of the members of the High Council of Justice. The procedures for appointing and dismissing judges shall be determined by the organic law.

Article 64. High Council of Justice

1. The High Council of Justice of Georgia – a body of the common courts system – shall be established to ensure the independence and efficiency of the common courts, to appoint and dismiss judges and to perform other tasks.
2. The High Council of Justice shall consist of 14 members appointed for a term of 4 years, and the Chairperson of the Supreme Court. More than half of the members of the High Council of Justice shall be members elected from among the judges by the self-governing body of judges of the common courts. In addition to the members elected by the self-governing body of judges of the common courts, and the Chairperson of the Supreme Court, the High Council of Justice shall have one member appointed by the President of Georgia and members elected by a majority of at least three fifths of the total number of the Members of Parliament. The Chairperson of the High Council of Justice shall be elected for 4 years, but not more than the term defined by his/her term of office as a member of the High Council of Justice. The Chairperson of the High Council of Justice shall be elected by the High Council of Justice from among its judge members in accordance with the procedures established by the organic law. The Secretary of the High Council of Justice shall be elected for 4 years by the self-governing body of judges of the common courts from among the members of the High Council of Justice that have been elected by the self-governing body of judges of the common courts.
3. The High Council of Justice shall be accountable to the self-governing body of judges of the common courts. The procedure for accountability shall be determined by the organic law.
4. The competences of the High Council of Justice and the procedures for its establishment and activity shall be determined by the organic law.

Article 65. Prosecutor’s Office

1. The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia shall be independent in its activity and shall only comply with the Constitution and law.
2. The Prosecutor’s Office shall be led by the General Prosecutor, who is elected for a term of 6 years upon nomination by the Prosecutors’ Council by a majority of the total number of the Members of Parliament, in accordance with the procedures established by the organic law.
3. The Prosecutors’ Council shall be established to ensure the independence, transparency and efficiency of the Prosecutor’s Office. The Council shall consist of 15 members elected in accordance with the procedures established by the organic law. The Chairperson of the Prosecutors’ Council shall be elected by Council members for a term of 2 years.
4. The Prosecutor’s Office shall submit a report on its activities to Parliament on an annual basis.
5. The competences, structure and procedure for the activity of the Prosecutor’s Office shall be determined by the organic law.