Foundations of the Constitutional Order
Article 6 of the Constitution of Georgia builds the hierarchy of the entire legal system: the Constitution of Georgia is the supreme law of the state, and every other legal act must conform to it. Under the second part of the same article, the legislation of Georgia conforms to the universally recognized principles and norms of international law, and an international treaty or agreement of Georgia that does not contradict the Constitution and the constitutional agreement has superior legal force over domestic normative acts.
Composition and Judiciary of the Constitutional Court
According to Article 60 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court of Georgia exercises judicial power by means of constitutional proceedings. The Constitutional Court consists of 9 judges appointed for a term of 10 years, of which 3 judges are appointed by the President of Georgia, 3 judges are elected by Parliament by a majority of three fifths of the full composition, and 3 judges are appointed by the Supreme Court. A judge of the Constitutional Court may be a citizen of Georgia from the age of 35 who has a higher legal education, at least 10 years of professional experience in the specialty and a distinguished professional qualification; a person who has previously held this position may not be a judge. The Constitutional Court elects a chairman from among its composition for a term of 5 years, and the re-election of the same person as chairman is not allowed.
Powers of the Constitutional Court
The fourth part of Article 60 lists the powers of the Constitutional Court. On the basis of a claim of a natural person, a legal person or the Public Defender, the court examines the constitutionality of a normative act with respect to the fundamental human rights recognized by the second chapter of the Constitution — this is the most important avenue for a citizen, because here an individual receives a direct right of application. Further, on a claim of the President, of at least one fifth of the members of Parliament or of the Government, the court decides the conformity of a normative act with the Constitution; on a submission of a common court it examines the constitutionality of an act that the common court must apply in a concrete case and that, by its substantiated suspicion, may contradict the Constitution. In addition, the court examines disputes concerning the competence of an organ of state power, the constitutionality of international treaties, the constitutionality of the activity of a political party, decisions on the mandate of a member of Parliament, disputes connected with referenda and elections, and a claim of a representative organ of local self-government with respect to the ninth chapter of the Constitution.