Published on 14 October 2024
FIFTH SECTION
Application no. 11032/22
Y
against Georgia
lodged on 16 February 2022
communicated on 25 September 2024
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The application concerns the applicant’s complaint that the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court which examined his case in domestic proceedings was not an “independent and impartial tribunal established by law”. In particular, he claimed that one of the judges – a former Prosecutor General of Georgia – had been appointed to the Supreme Court in violation of a statutory eligibility criterion. Additionally, the applicant complained that the judge in question and another judge (former Deputy Prosecutor General) had not been impartial on account of their prior roles in the prosecution service.
The criminal proceedings against the applicant ended with the Supreme Court’s inadmissibility decision dated 9 November 2021 (served on 22 November 2021). According to the applicant, he became aware of the composition of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court when he got acquainted with the final decision in his case.
The applicant relied on Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Did the applicant have at his disposal an effective domestic remedy with respect to the complaints concerning the impartiality and lawfulness of the composition of the Supreme Court of Georgia, within the meaning of Article 35 § 1 of the Convention, and has he exhausted it (see Ugulava v. Georgia (no. 2), no. 22431/20, §§36-43, 1 February 2024)?
2. Was the composition of the Supreme Court of Georgia which dealt with the applicant’s case a “tribunal established by law” as required by Article 6 § 1 of the Convention?
3. Was the composition of the Supreme Court in the applicant’s case independent and impartial, as required by Article 6 § 1 of the Convention?