Georgian Dream–elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili has appointed Giorgi Modebadze as a new judge of the Constitutional Court, days after Judge Irine Imerlishvili resigned and amid a looming constitutional appeal from the ruling party to ban opposition groups.
Modebadze, 37, has served as First Deputy to Georgian Dream Education Minister Givi Mikanadze since November 2024. Before joining the ministry, he held several administrative positions at the Tbilisi City Court, including serving as the court manager. Modebadze holds a Master’s degree in Law (2016–2018) from the Georgian Technical University.
Modebadze’s appointment follows the October 17 resignation of Judge Irine Imerlishvili, who had a record of dissenting opinions in politically sensitive cases in the Constitutional Court, widely seen as loyal to the ruling party. Imerlishvili left the court eleven months before her 10-year term was due to expire, as Georgian Dream prepares an appeal to ban opposition parties. She later explained to RFE/RL’s Georgian Service that she left to take a new position as rector of Batumi International University (BIU).
Georgia’s Constitutional Court is composed of nine judges appointed for ten-year terms: three by the President, three elected by Parliament with a three-fifths majority, and three appointed by the Supreme Court.
Georgian Dream leaders say the appeal to ban opposition parties, based on a voluminous report by the GD parliamentary investigative commission that examined alleged crimes of former officials, will be submitted by the end of this week and will name about ten parties for banning.
Critics say that while Georgian Dream targets groups it calls the “collective UNM,” the appeal could end up encompassing the entire opposition.
In parallel, the Georgian Dream Parliament last week fast-tracked amendments extending political bans to individuals “associated” with parties declared unconstitutional, stripping them of their passive voting rights, including the right to found or join political parties, run in elections, or hold public office.
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