Georgian Parliament official: Georgia's progress in judicial independence “unprecedented”

Levan Makhashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on European Integration, on Wednesday hailed Georgia’s “unimaginable progress” in strengthening judicial independence, as highlighted in the European Commission’s global assessment within the 2025 Freedom House report.

In his remarks, Makhashvili emphasised that Georgia’s advancements in this area surpassed those of other EU candidate countries, including Ukraine and Moldova.

“This does not mean that Georgia is already prepared for EU membership or that everything is perfect - not at all. However, Georgia has made unimaginable progress, which is not even comparable to other states, be it in terms of the economy, strong institutions, judicial independence, efficiency, or the overall effectiveness of the justice system”, Makhashvili said.

The official dismissed criticisms to the contrary as “political speculation”, asserting that Georgia’s achievements in building strong institutions and an effective justice system set it apart from other candidate nations.

“In this regard, neither Ukraine, Moldova, nor some other candidate countries can compare to Georgia. Everything else is a matter of political speculation. We intend to continue this progress so that the state creates an environment in which the judiciary can make decisions as independently as possible from political pressure”, he concluded.

The European Commission, within the framework of Freedom House’s 2025 annual report, has released a global evaluation of judicial independence. The index covers more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, analyzing developments from 2013 to 2025. Using a four-point rating system, the study sought to answer a key question: “Is the judiciary independent?”

According to the report, only five countries in Europe have managed to improve their ratings on judicial independence since 2013: Georgia, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Albania.