Page 9 - GEORptJul19

2.5 Georgia retains “Partly Free” ranking: Freedom in the World 2019 survey
Georgia has again been c ategorised as “Partly Free” by the annual Freedom in the World survey. However, the 2019 edition of the ranking shaves a point off the country’s Aggregate Freedom Score. It now stands at 63/100 (100 = Most Free).
The latest survey, issued by US-based watchdog Freedom House late on February 4, makes no changes to Georgia’s scores in the sub-categories of Freedom Rating, Political Rights and Civil Liberties. Georgia again scored 3/7 for each (7 = Least Free).
Freedom House was yet to release the report detailing the reasoning behind the latest scorecard for Georgia.
The organisation entitled its latest report “Democracy in Retreat” in a reflection of events around the world last year.
On February 4, Laura Linderman, a representative of the Atlantic Council, said in an interview with the Voice of America that if democratic progress in Georgia is reversed the country will disappear from the agenda of many western countries , including the US.
Her remarks came with Georgia’s authorities preparing to appoint members of the Supreme Court. Lifetime members of the court will be appointed for the first time under procedures outlined in the country’s new Constitution, which came into force in December. The High Council of Justice will nominate the members who are to be endorsed by Parliament.
"Georgia is distinguished with democratic characteristics in the region and beyond it... If democracy is reversed, Georgia will lose its main component. Georgia is in a difficult neighbourhood, in a difficult situation in terms of security, the economy is growing, but it is not so great compared to other countries. If Georgia loses its democracy, it will disappear from the agenda of many western countries, including the United States," Linderman said.
2.6 Polls & Sociology
Most Georgians believe judiciary under political control
Transparency International Georgia has released the results of a public opinion survey which shows that trust in the judiciary in Georgia is very low. A large part of the population, some 83%, believes that judges with a history of making unjust decisions under political pressure should not be working in the judiciary. A majority of respondents determined that staffing the courts with completely new judges would be the solution.
The survey concludes that 53% of the population believe the judiciary is under the influence of the ruling party Georgian Dream (GD) while 50% think that the court system is unjust.
The survey also showed that 43% of the population believe there is an influential clan of judges in the judiciary. Of those, 87% think that the clan enjoys the support of the ruling party, and 94% think that the members of the
9 GEORGIA Country Report July 2019 www.intellinews.com