Shalva Natelashvili:
"I deem it my primary responsibility to review all the court decisions and sentences taken during the years of tyranny and dictatorship and [to] issue a large-scale amnesty," Natelashvili, a onetime prosecutor, writes in his campaign platform. He also plans to cancel "repressive" laws and fire "all those vacant-eyed robots who call themselves judges."
Mikheil Saakashvili:
Supporters say that Saakashvili's judicial reforms were meant to lay the legal groundwork for the creation of an independent judiciary. United National Movement Party MP Giga Bokeria told EurasiaNet that the campaign to reduce corruption in courts has been four-pronged: securing the court's financial independence, naming young judges, dramatically raising salaries, and letting the judges dominate the self-regulatory body, the Supreme Council of Justice. Saakashvili's campaign staff says that they are convinced that these changes will bear results in the coming years. "Last year we implemented the legislative components of judiciary reform, now it goes to the judges themselves" to perform their duties in a responsible manner, spokesperson Davit Bakradze told EurasiaNet.
Irina Sarishvili:
Sarishvili says that absolute independence of the judiciary is part and parcel of a successful state. In compliance with her program, judges, prosecutors, police and special forces servicemen will be demanded to return their salaries and social benefits to the state if proven guilty of corruption. She proposes to set up a separate "administrative court" that will judge members of the government on corruption charges.
Levan Gachechiladze:
Gachechiladze has vowed to carry out blanket judicial reform, but the details of his plans are not yet available. He has pledged to confer greater powers on the Public Defender's Office and to increase its financial independence.
Davit Gamkrelidze:
In order to stop what he calls the "suborning of courts" to the ruling elite, Gachechiladze plans a sweeping overhaul of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies. He plans to staff the High Court of Justice with judges selected randomly in lieu of state appointees, ban plea-bargaining in particularly grievous crimes and to place time limits on pre-trial detention. Gachechiladze also plans to "abolish [the] Interior Ministry and set up municipal police and the National Bureau of Investigation as independent structural units" and "to cancel the General Prosecutor's Office and merge it with the Ministry of Justice" to improve the level of public oversight on prosecutors' activities. He believes that dealing with financial crimes should not fall within the purview of the police.
