Georgia’s Constitutional Court ruled President Salome Zurabishvili violated the constitution by traveling to EU countries without government consent, clearing the way for lawmakers to continue their drive to hold impeachment proceedings against her.
The decision, announced on October 16, was supported by six out of nine judges who said "that during her working foreign visits on August 31, September 1, and September 6, 2023, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili exercised representative powers and authority in the area of international relations without the Georgian government’s consent."
Georgia’s constitution forbids the president to get involved in the country’s foreign relations without the agreement of the government.
Zurabishvili traveled to Paris, Berlin, and Brussels to promote Georgia’s European Union candidacy -- the country applied for EU membership in March 2022 but it has not been granted candidate status yet -- and met with leaders of France, Germany, and the 27-member bloc.
The drive to impeach Zurabishvili has been led by the ruling Georgian Dream party and its leader, Irakli Kobakhidze, claimed the court ruling was a victory as it showed the president needs government approval to meet foreign leaders visiting Georgia or even to travel to another country for personal reasons.
But Maya Kopaleshvili, a former Constitutional Court judge and representative of Zurabishvili, said the president can still meet leaders of foreign countries without the government’s permission if this does not represent or result in a change of the country’s foreign policy course.
The motion to impeach Zurabishvili was submitted by 80 lawmakers -- enough to initiate the proceedings but not enough to remove the president. At least 100 out of 150 members of Georgia’s parliament need to support the impeachment motion to remove the president, and Georgian Dream officials have acknowledged the motion is unlikely to pass.
The motion for Zurabishvili’s impeachment comes as her popularity rises for her strongly pro-Western and pro-Ukrainian views and opposition to some of the ruling party’s controversial decisions.
Among them was proposing a controversial “foreign agent” law -- which Zurabishvili said would bring Georgia “closer to the flawed Russian model and not to the European model” -- that sparked protests, forcing the party to back down.
Georgia applied for EU membership shortly after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, along with Ukraine and Moldova. While those two latter countries were awarded candidate status in June 2022, Georgia was instead given an EU “perspective” and a list of reforms it should implement.
In addition to tackling political polarization and other issues, the European Commission has recommended Georgia address judicial reform, increase the fight against corruption and organized crime.
In October, the EU will decide -- based on its perception of the progress Georgia has made on those reforms -- whether to award it candidate status.