On September 9, the new measure that the Georgian Parliament passed after several processes to alter the selection procedure for the state's next public defender was introduced. The action received 83 votes in favor and 0 votes against from MPs.
According to the new proposed legislation, candidates for the position would be presented to the Parliament on the Speaker's directive at the end of the year. In accordance with the specified procedure, the Speaker will establish a working group of nine individuals from civil society, as well as other professional and academic domains, who will assess and suggest candidates for consideration by Parliament. The Speaker is required to confer with political parties and parliamentary groupings before forming the group. The working committee will then assess potential applicants for the position of public defender using standards such as independence, objectivity, stellar reputation, expert knowledge, and practical expertise in the area of fundamental liberties and human rights. The law states that Parliament will start reviewing candidates after at least seven people have been nominated for consideration. If not, the relevant procedure is supposed to start over.
On August 31, Caucasus Watch reported that a meeting on the election of the public defender was held in Parliament by the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and NGOs. Mikheil Sarjveladze, a member of the GD, thinks it is crucial to pay attention to how NGOs run elections. "The public defender election process, which will be the fairest, balanced, efficient, and inclusive, will be presented until September 1st," Sarjveladze said.
