On February 16th was conducted the online discussion: The Role of Lay Members of Judicial Councils in Making the Judiciary Independent and Accountable which was organized by Group of Independent Lawyers (GIL), Democracy Index - Georgia and International Network of Judicial Reformers (INJR), with the support of the USAID Rule of Law Program.

Tomáš Rychlý It has been six years since I joined the Czech Supreme Administrative Court ("SAC"). I take (again) this opportunity to briefly look back and attempt to summarise in short notes my experience and the differences between the professions of an attorney and a judge (as I see them).

We, the people of Georgia, strongly oppose the bill initiated by the members of the Parliamentary Majority, also endorsed by the Speaker of Parliament and other MPs. We declare that the attempts to adopt this Russian bill attack not only the independent civil society organizations and the critical media, but the people of Georgia themselves.

The purpose of the draft law, initiated by the "People's Power", is to put pressure on the civil organizations and media supported by the strategic partners of the Georgian state - to label them as "agents of a foreign country", suppress the public's voice, and significantly limit public control over the governing bodies.

On September 22, 2022, non-governmental organizations and public groups appealed to the Parliament of Georgia to create an investigative commission to study the current situation in the judicial system.

As it became known to the public, a court hearing was scheduled for December 14, 2022, to consider the issue of a postponement of the sentence or release of the former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili.

On November 24, 2022 with the support of USAID Rule of Law Program, the Group of Independent Lawyers and Democracy Index - Georgia hosted an online discussion: Public Access to Court Documents. Presenters from Georgia, United States, Germany, Ukraine and Moldova overviewed the situation existing in their countries, answered the questions from the participants, which was later followed by the discussion.

The anti-corruption bill package initiated by the Legal Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia (№07-3/259/10) can ensure the implementation of one of the five priorities provided for in the 4th recommendation of the European Commission, while the other four will remain unfulfilled.

In December 2021, the Parliament hurriedly amended the Organic Law “On Common Courts”. The amendments violate the constitutional rights of judges, limit the guarantees of independence of individual judges, and increase the leverage for the influential ruling group in the court to pressurize individual judges.

Recently, the clan dominating the court and the ruling government has launched a targeted campaign to discredit Supreme Court judge Ms. Nino Bakakuri. Deputies who left the political party Georgian dream, pro-government media, and experts are also involved in the campaign.