Supreme Court judicial candidate Temur Gogokhia has withdrawn his candidacy. The relevant information was published in the official *Legislative Herald of Georgia* (Matsne), news agency IPN reports.
According to the document, on October 13, 2026, Gogokhia submitted an application to the High Council of Justice withdrawing from further participation in the competition as a candidate. Consequently, the selection procedure for the vacant post will restart within one month.
The document, published on the Legislative Herald’s website, is signed by the Secretary of the High Council of Justice of Georgia, Vasil Mshvenieradze.
«Following the early termination of powers of Supreme Court Judge Giorgi Gogiashvili on July 8, 2026 (due to the judge’s passing), a single vacancy opened for the position of Supreme Court judge. On July 23, the selection process for a candidate for the aforementioned post was launched, with one contender—Temur Gogokhia—advancing to the final stage on October 12.
On October 13, 2026, Temur Gogokhia submitted an application to the High Council of Justice of Georgia declining to continue his participation in the selection process as a candidate. Thus, the current procedure concluded inconclusively, as the candidate selected by the Council declined to advance to the next stage.
In light of the above, Decree No. 1/272 of the High Council of Justice of Georgia dated October 13, 2026, declared Council Decree No. 1/198 of July 23, 2026, null and void.
Under paragraph 17 of Article 34¹ of the Organic Law of Georgia on Common Courts, if the Council fails to submit a nomination to the Parliament of Georgia, or if, upon completion of all statutory procedures, the Supreme Court judge vacancy remains unfilled, the selection procedure for a suitable candidate shall resume within one month», the decree states.
Temur Gogokhia has been a lifetime-appointed tenured judge since 2018. According to information published on the official website of the High Council of Justice, since October 2025 he has served as head of the Investigation, Pre-Trial, and Merits Criminal Panel of the Tbilisi City Court.