Two New Constitutional Court Judges Appointed As Critics Fear ‘No More Dissenting Opinions’

Two new judges, Goga Kikalishvili and Sergo Metopishvili, were appointed to fill the two vacant seats at Georgia’s Constitutional Court, with the appointments feared to leave the key judicial body, long accused of pro-government leanings, now almost fully dominated by loyalists of the ruling Georgian Dream party. Kikilashvili was appointed by Georgian Dream-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili, while Metopishvili was selected by the Supreme Court’s Plenum . Three of the nine judges of the Georgian Constitutional Court are appointed by the President, three are elected by Parliament by a majority of at least three-fifths of its full membership, and the remaining three are appointed by the Supreme Court. Judges are appointed to serve 10-year terms.

The appointments come as the Constitutional Court is set to consider a Georgian Dream-filed constitutional lawsuit seeking to ban several key opposition parties, including the United National Movement, Ahali/Coalition for Change, Lelo/Strong Georgia, Federalists and, most recently, Gakharia For Georgia. Kikilashvili, 37, will replace Constitutional Court Judge Giorgi Kverenchkhiladze, whose 10-year term expires on October 2. Kverenchkhiladze was among the few judges known for issuing dissenting opinions in rulings perceived to favor the ruling party’s positions. The term of another judge known for similar dissenting opinions, Teimuraz Tughushi, is also set to expire in the coming months, while another, Irine Imerlishvili, prematurely quit the Court last year. Recently appointed Kikilashvili is the son of former Constitutional Court Judge Khvicha Kikilashvili, who was appointed to the Court by the Supreme Court’s Plenum in April 2020 but resigned in 2025. Khvicha Kikilashvili was among the six judges who ruled in favor of…