Non-governmental organizations welcome the initiative to create an investigative commission regarding the current situation in the court and call on the Parliament of Georgia to support it.

In this regard, the non-governmental organizations issued a joint statement, where it is said that without a fair and reliable court, the democratic development of the country and the creation of a stable political environment are impossible.

In addition, the third sector in the joint statement emphasizes that the systemic reform of justice is one of the fundamental prerequisites for Georgia's integration into European structures.

"On September 22 of the current year, non-governmental organizations and public groups appealed to the Parliament of Georgia with a request to create an investigative commission to study the current situation in the judicial system. The case refers to the alleged facts of pressure on judges, untimely interference in justice, nepotism and concealment of income by judges, which have been repeatedly reported in the media in recent years. The mentioned facts have not resulted in an effective response from the law enforcement agencies until now. We consider the creation of a parliamentary investigative commission to be the only way to answer many questions accumulated in society regarding the current situation in the judicial system. Accordingly, we welcome the initiative of the members of the Parliament to create an investigative commission and call on the Parliament of Georgia to support the creation of the mentioned commission. We express our desire to cooperate with the investigative commission and we express our readiness to present all the information available to us, as well as to help in finding additional sources," the statement said.

The statement is signed by: Group of Independent Lawyers, Democracy Index Georgia, Democracy Research Institute, Court Watch, GYLA, Human Rights Center, ISFED.

source: IPN