TBILISI, September 23 – Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili has appointed Goga Kikilashvili, the son of judge Khvicha Kikilashvili, to the country’s Constitutional Court.
The president’s office announced Kikilashvili’s appointment on Tuesday. He will replace Giorgi Kverenchkhiladze, whose term ends on October 2. Kverenchkhiladze was appointed by former president Giorgi Margvelashvili.
On Wednesday, Georgia’s Supreme Court announced that its plenum had appointed Sergo Metopishvili, previously a judge at the Tbilisi Court of Appeals, to another seat on the Constitutional Court. He will replace Teimuraz Tugushi, whose term ends on November 2.
Nona Kurdovanidze, former chair of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, criticized the appointments in a social media post on Wednesday. She drew attention to Kikilashvili’s family connection and described Metopishvili as a member of an influential group within the judiciary. She warned that dissenting opinions from Constitutional Court judges could soon disappear.
Georgia’s Constitutional Court has nine judges serving 10-year terms. The president appoints three, parliament elects three by a three-fifths majority of its full membership, and the Supreme Court appoints the remaining three.
