There is significant turmoil in Georgia's judicial system, with events unfolding at an alarming pace, according to prominent Georgian journalists Anna Gvarishvili in a post on social media on November 6. The judiciary in Georgia, encompassing common courts as well as the Constitutional Court, remains fully corrupt and is entirely captured by the regime of Georgian Dream.

"A group of influential judges known as the 'judiciary clan' controls the entire judicial system. This group is not merely the subject of accusations by activists; high-level Western institutions have also identified this network as problematic," Gvarishvili said.

Three prominent members of this "clan" – Levan Murusidze, Mikheil Chinchaladze, and Valerian Tsertsvadze – were sanctioned by the United States in April 2023 for their alleged role in systemic corruption. According to constitutional lawyer Dachi Zedelashvili, the clan's strategy has been to ensure that lawsuits regarding elections are quietly terminated at the first instance, effectively keeping the upper courts and their reputations untouched by controversy.

The opposition has been trying to get the courts to grant permission for the ballot boxes to be opened so that the votes can be checked to see if they belong to real people or if there are multiple votes by the same person. So far the judges have denied these requests on the grounds of violating voters privacy. As bne IntelliNews reported, there was widespread voting irregularities, especially in Georgia’s regions.

The judges’ strategy to limit access to votes and challenge the results, however, has been disrupted by an unexpected move from a district court judge.

A decision on November 5 by Vladimer Khuchua, a judge from Tetritskaro District Court, has triggered a wave of changes and uncertainty. Judge Khuchua granted a motion from the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) to obtain ballots, revealing evidence that secrecy in voting was not maintained during the recent #GeVote2024 elections. In a dramatic courtroom examination, it was found that the choice marked on the back of the ballots was visible when inserted into the voting machine. Judge Khuchua ruled that "voters did not have a guarantee of vote security and secrecy," and consequently nullified the results from 30 precincts, setting a significant precedent.

In his final statement, Judge Khuchua made it clear that, based on the evidence presented, the voters' secrecy was compromised: "The court unequivocally believes that this approach to the electoral process is not free, and therefore, all these results should be nullified." This ruling has forced the judiciary clan into an uncomfortable position, as they now need to handle the case in the Courts of Appeals, thereby taking direct responsibility for the outcome, says Gvarishvili.

The system has since been thrown into disarray. In the past day alone, there have been numerous reports of chaotic events – court sessions being scheduled then abruptly cancelled, lawsuits being merged, and responses withheld. It seems that the judicial system is in a frantic rush to find a solution amid a chaotic and unpredictable situation. The complexity is further underscored by an update from Natia Kurdovanidze of GYLA, stating that the session on November 6 has been postponed for a day and will be heard at the Tbilisi Court of Appeals. Complicating matters even further, a separate session at the Kutaisi Court of Appeals is scheduled to merge multiple lawsuits as well.

The turmoil has highlighted rare moments of integrity within Georgia's judiciary. Alongside Khuchua, Judge Levan Darbaidze from the Gori District Court also recently showed immense bravery by invalidating a search conducted in a civic activist's house, holding the evidence inadmissible. Gvarishvili expressed her admiration for these individuals, remarking: "Thank God there are still a few decent men in the Georgian judiciary system." For now, these individuals stand as rare symbols of hope against the deeply entrenched corruption that continues to grip the nation’s legal institutions, according to Gvarishvili.