On April 1, pro-government Imedi TV (1;2) aired the statement by Georgian Dream MP Davit Matikashvili, according to which “the recent study has revealed that in terms of political bias, even the United States lags behind the Georgian judiciary.” Imedi TV also presented the V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) Index on judicial purges, noting that Georgia ranks 46th among the world’s top 50 countries and 16th among the top 20 European countries.
The claim that Georgia is ahead of the U.S. as allegedly stated in the ‘recent study’ on political bias in the judiciary, is not true. The V-Dem Index does not measure political bias, but rather the unjust removal of judges from the judiciary, known as judicial purges. Georgia’s scores on the component measuring high court independence and lower court independence are 2.25 and 1.38 out of 4, respectively, both lower than the U.S. scores.
It is impossible to find in open sources a recent study that measures the political impartiality of the judiciary and according to which Georgia is ahead of the U.S. in this indicator, while V-Dem’s data does not support Matikashvili’s statement.
V-Dem data
According to the V-Dem indices, we can draw conclusions about the independence of the judiciary from political influence on the basis of two components – high court independence and lower court independence.
According to the clarification of the first component, when the high court deliberates on cases important to the government, how often can we say that the court adopts the government’s position regardless of its sincere view of the legal record. Responses: 0: always; 1: usually; 2: about half of the time; 3: seldom. Georgia’s score is 2.25, and the U.S. score is 3.46.
On lower court independence, the question reads: when judges not on the high court are ruling in cases that are salient to the government, how often would you say that their decisions merely reflect government wishes regardless of their sincere view of the legal record? 0: always; 1: usually; 2: about half of the time; 3: seldom; 4: never. Georgia’s score is 1.38, and the U.S. score is 3.32.
The index presented by Imedi TV along with Matikashvili’s statement does not measure the political impartiality of the judiciary, as claimed by the ruling party MP. Instead, it shows the situation in the country regarding the unfair removal of judges from the judiciary. This particular data from V-Dem refers to judicial purges. According to the clarification, judges are sometimes removed from their posts for cause, as when there is strong evidence of corruption; however, some judges are removed arbitrarily, typically for political reasons. With this distinction in mind, the clause evaluates the dismissal of judges in the mentioned year. Countries receive a score based on the level of arbitrariness in the removal of judges: 0: a massive, arbitrary purge of the judiciary; 1: limited but very important arbitrary removals; 2: limited arbitrary removals; 3: judges were removed from office, but there is no evidence that the removals were arbitrary; 4: judges were not removed from their posts.
According to the 2023 data, in this component, Georgia’s score is 3.74, while the U.S. scored 3.64. The countries with the highest scores are Ireland, Finland, Spain, Iceland, Barbados, Malta, Sweden, Panama, Sri Lanka, and Solomon Islands. Notably, Russia (3.56) scored higher than Germany (3.43), Canada (3.51), and Italy (3.24).
This criterion, which reflects the removal of judges for political reasons, cannot be used to evaluate judicial independence. In Georgia, there are concerns about the impartiality of the judiciary and the appointment of judges (1;2). The U.S. has sanctioned judges in Georgia for their “involvement in significant corruption,” and the ruling party is demanding that these sanctions be lifted. Non-governmental organizations claim that Georgian Dream protects the interests of judged known as members of the so-called clan. In 2023, the European Commission recommended that Georgia be granted EU candidate status, provided that the country implements nine steps, including “holistic and effective judicial reform.” The 2023 Communication on EU Enlargement Policy recommends that Georgia establish a system of extraordinary integrity checks, with the involvement of international experts, for all leading positions in the judiciary.
V-Dem’s other indices related to judiciary
V-Dem examines the judicial situation in the countries with several more indices. The judicial accountability indicator reflects how often judges are removed from their posts or otherwise disciplined when they have been found responsible for serious misconduct. 0 points are given to countries where judges are never found responsible for their misconduct; 1 – seldom; 2 – about half of the time; 3 – usually; 4 – always.
According to the V-Dem data, Georgia was assigned 1.1. This is close to 1, which is assigned to countries where judges are rarely removed or held accountable for serious misconduct. The United States scored 3.37 on this index.
V-Dem’s judicial reform index shows whether the judiciary’s formal powers altered during the year in ways that affect its ability to control the arbitrary use of state authority. 0 is assigned to the countries, where the judiciary’s ability to control arbitrary power was reduced via institutional reform; 1 – there was no change to the judiciary’s ability to control arbitrary power via institutional review; 2 – the judiciary’s ability to control arbitrary power was enhanced via institutional reform. Georgia was assigned 0.55, the U.S. – 0.96 on this index.
Judicial reformAnother index on the judiciary refers to judicial decisions on corruption. According to V-Dem, the index shows the answer to the question about how often individuals or businesses make undocumented extra payments or bribes in order to speed up or delay the process or to obtain a favorable judicial decision. Responses: 0: always; 1: usually; 2: about half of the time; 3: not usually; 4: never. Georgia’s score is 2.98 and the United States’ score is 3.35.
The index on the compliance with judiciary shows how often the government complies with important decisions by other courts with which it disagrees. Responses: 0: never; 1: seldom; 2: about half of the time; 3: usually; 4: always. Georgia’s score is 2.85 and the United States’ score is 3.39.
Other studies
The World Justice Project, an international organization, publishes its annual Rule of Law Index. The Index measures how the rule of law is experienced and perceived in everyday life around the world. Performance is assessed through 44 indicators organized around 8 factors: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open Government, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice, and Criminal Justice. According to the 2023 data, Georgia ranks 48th in the world, and 1st in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region (Montenegro; Kosovo; Kazakhstan; North Macedonia; Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Uzbekistan, Ukraine; Albania; Serbia; Kyrgyzstan; Belarus; Russia; Turkey). The indicator worsened by 0.01 points in 2020, increased by 0.01 points in 2021, worsened again by 0.01 points in the following year and remained unchanged in 2023. Georgia’s score in the civil justice component is 0.53, placing it 68th among 142 countries. This component measures whether ordinary people can resolve their grievances peacefully and effectively through the civil justice system. It measures whether civil justice systems are accessible and affordable as well as free of discrimination, corruption, and improper influence by public officials. It examines whether court proceedings are conducted without unreasonable delays and whether decisions are enforced effectively. In the criminal justice component, Georgia’s score is 0.52, placing it 53rd among 142 countries. This component assesses the country’s justice system – assessment of the delivery of criminal justice should take into consideration the entire system, including the police, lawyers, prosecutors, judges, and prison officers.
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| Criminal Justice – Rule of Law Index | Civil Justice – Rule of Law Index |
The Heritage Foundation, an international organization, publishes its annual Index of Economic Freedom. The index covers 12 freedoms, including judicial effectiveness. According to the 2024 data, the score of judicial effectiveness decreased by 8.1 points compared to the previous year – from 62.9 to 54.8.
The Myth Detector has verified the out-of-context information that pro-government media has been spreading about the V-Dem study in the past. See the material for details:
Archive of Imedi TV’s article
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