Page 7 - GEORptMar19

should be thoroughly revised in order to appoint judges with the best credibility. The nominees have been broadly criticised for their political bias under previous regimes.
Georgian Dream has asked the Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe, to get involved in the consultations on the appointment procedure lawmakers will draft for lifetime judges, Irakli Kobakhidze, executive secretary of the party, announced on February 20. But one day later, most of the party members refrained from supporting the key bill regarding the postponement of appointing lifetime judges, a bill that would have made time for broad consultations on the appointment procedures.
Attempts to regulate this issue, after the new Constitution came in effect at the end of last year, prompted conflicts within the ruling party and criticism from the civil society organisations that fear the appointment of politically-biased judges.
“We express our full readiness to prepare the proposals for the lifetime appointment of judges, which will be in compliance with the Constitution of Georgia and the recommendations of the Council of Europe. For this purpose, we are addressing the Venice Commission to get involved in the process,” Kobakhidze said.
2.3 Georgia’s economy 16th freest on Heritage’s Economic Freedom Index 2019
Georgia’s score on The Heritage Foundation’s 2019 Index of Economic Freedom is 75.9, making its economy the 16th freest of the 180 assessed, the US-based conservative think tank said on January 30.
The country’s overall score has decreased by 0.3 of a point compared to its performance on the 2018 index, with a sharp drop in judicial effectiveness and lower scores on government integrity and monetary freedom exceeding a big gain in financial freedom, Heritage saied. Georgia is ranked 8th among 44 countries in the Europe region, and its overall score is well above the regional and world averages.
Since the 2003 “Rose Revolution,” reforms by successive administrations have reduced petty corruption, cut regulation, simplified taxes, opened markets, and developed transport and energy infrastructure, the think tank said, adding: “The government hopes that further reductions in regulation, taxes, and corruption will attract foreign investment and stimulate growth. Its maintenance of monetary stability and overall sound fiscal health has fostered macroeconomic resilience. Nonetheless, deeper and more rapid institutional reforms to enhance judicial independence and effectiveness are still needed to ensure dynamic and lasting economic development.”
Georgia was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1921 and regained its independence in 1991. Russia invaded in 2008 and continues to occupy territory in Georgia’s South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions. Georgia’s economy has improved noticeably after years of economic downturn, Heritage said. Agriculture or related industries employ over half of the workforce. Georgia signed an Association Agreement with the European Union in 2014 and is an
7 GEORGIA Country Report March 2019 www.intellinews.com