Parliamentary Chairman, Davit Usupashvili, said that President Saakashvili’s veto on the bill of reforming High Council of Justice would be overridden by the legislative body.

“I doubt he [the President] will offer something [in his objections] that we will share, so the Parliament is expected to vote and I am sure the Parliament will successfully override this veto, because bills adopted by us are useful for the country and useful for the judiciary and everyone acknowledges it, including the Venice Commission. You know that the only argument cited by the President behind his decision to block and delay this reform [of High Council of Justice] is as if we have not taken into consideration recommendations of the Venice Commission. I hope you have all listened to remarks by the President of Venice Commission yesterday, who welcomed these amendments and who thinks that this reform is going in the right direction. So Saakashvili and [UNM parliamentary] minority have no argument at all, except of simply don’t wanting to change situation in the judiciary. Situation will change for better by giving more independence to judges,” Usupashvili said.

President’s chief of administration, Andro Barnovi, said on April 23 that Saakashvili would send back to the parliament amendments to the law on common court with his objections. He said that the President vetoed the bill because the Parliament “completely ignored” recommendations of the Venice Commission.

Also on April 23 President Saakashvili vetoed another bill, which envisages depriving a defendant upper hand in choosing whether to have a trial by jury or a judge.