AUTHORITY, COURT AND CORRUPTION

Recently, particular changes were made in the Georgian Legislation. Judicial authority must be independent and only its highest bodies should have the right to change the sentence. However, creating an independent judicial in a society with totalitarian mentality yielded no substantial changes; the essence of the judiciary remained the same. On the one hand, the corruption established in the judicial system, and a whole plight of incompetent judges, on the other, make it almost impossible to carry out a judicial reform. That's why, recently the center of gravity of human rights violations shifted to the judicial authorities.

Some representatives of the authority publicly uncover the corruption in the judicial system. For example, at the press-conference in Kutaisi on January 13, 1997, Mr. Temur Shashiashvili, Mayor of Kutaisi said: "The country will not enjoy any progress while such corrupt courts exist. I do not doubt, that financial motivation predominates in current courts." Mr. Jamlet Babilashvili, Procurator General announced on January 16, 1997: "Corruption has spread among the high ranks of Georgian authority. "The courts calmly accept the confessions made under coercion during the preliminary investigation, inevitably leading to guilty verdict for an innocent person. Such cases may, not be politically important by themselves, but they may earn political significance. If a highly ranked politician "orders" a guilty verdict for someone, the judges will comply in fear of reciprocal oppression. No wonder other high rank officials abuse human rights when the President himself violates the presumption innocence. For example, while a group of Zviadists has not been convicted of terrorism yet, President Shevardnadze publicly announces that the suspects deserve capital punishment (1993). When another group of Zviadists was arrested, Mr. Shevardnadze named that Z. Dzidziguri and his friends bandits and saboteurs (1995). The rights of the Zviadists were roughly violated during the pre-trial detention. As a result of severe tortures Mr.Giorgi Korbeshashvili, cut his veins, and Mr. Z. Dzidziguri took another person's blame upon himself (Mr. Dzidziguri was sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment).


[ Return to Home Page ]
Web Space Provided by:
Steele Communications