Constitutional Court Of Georgia: The President Violated The Constitution

The pro-Russian Georgian Dream party insists on the impeachment of Salome Zurabishvili.

The Constitutional Court of Georgia found that President Salome Zurabishvili violated the country's Constitution.

The constitutional appeal of parliament members on impeachment was supported by six members of the Constitutional Court, three were opposed - Irina Imerlishvili, Giorgi Kvenchhiladze, Teimuraz Tugushi, Radio Liberty reports.

Now parliament must consider and vote on the issue of removing the president from office through impeachment within two weeks.

The decision to impeach must be supported by at least 100 members of parliament. Considering that almost all opposition members promise to vote against, the ruling party will presumably not be able to remove Zurabishvili from office.

Earlier, hearings on this case were held in the Constitutional Court. The impeachment petition, signed by 80 deputies, was presented in court by members of the ruling pro-Russian Georgian Dream party, including its chairman Irakli Kobakhidze.

Georgian Dream claims the president violated the Constitution by traveling abroad without government permission. According to Article 52 of the Constitution of Georgia, the president “with the consent of the government, exercises representative powers in foreign relations, negotiates with foreign states and international organizations.” Zurabishvili, in particular, met with the presidents of Germany, France and the European Council.

The president was not present at the hearings; in court, her interests were represented by ex-deputy from the Georgian Dream Tamar Chugoshvili and former judge of the Georgian Constitutional Court Maya Kopaleishvili. They, in particular, pointed out that according to Article 49 of the Constitution, “the President of Georgia represents Georgia in foreign relations.” In addition, the document states that “Constitutional bodies, within the limits of their powers, shall take all measures to ensure the full integration of Georgia into the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization” (Article 78).