Supreme Court of Georgia

Within the framework of the joint project of the European Union and Council of Europe, the Minister of Justice visited the Supreme Court

Published: 12/11/2015

On December 10, 2015 at the Supreme Court of Georgia the third workshop opened within the framework of the Joint Project of European Union (EU) and Council of Europe –“Regional Dialogue on judicial reform in the Eastern Partnership Countries”.

The Chairperson of the Supreme Court of Georgia and the High Council of Justice Ms. Nino Gvenetadze, Minister of Justice, Ms. Tea Tsulukiani, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, Mr. Christian Urse and Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Georgia, Stefan Stork addressed delegates with the welcoming speech.

“Noteworthy is that this is not the first project within the framework of Council of Europe and the European Union. Previous project "Empowerment of the judicial reform in Eastern Partnership countries” which commenced in 2011 and ended in 2014, also aimed to support the ongoing judicial reform in the member countries. Both previous and current projects raised important issues in terms of development of our countrys judicial system”  - noted Nino Gvenetadze.  Chairperson of the Supreme Court expressed confidence that the document elaborated on the bases of the working meetings will have significant impact on the process of judicial reform in the Eastern Partnership countries.

During the meeting the Minister of Justice introduced to the delegates the institutional reforms implemented within the judiciary and outlined: “We are at a crucial stage, this phase is significant due to the fact that it is difficult to obtain a compromise, to gain consensus for a large-scale reforms that is underway for almost several months by the guidance of the Ministry of Justice with the support of the Chairperson of the Supreme Court of Georgia.”

The third working group will work on the issues of free legal assistance. During the meeting, delegates will discuss current situation facing participating countries, review European and other international standards and cover also issues on increasing independence of the lawyers providing free legal assistance, as well as improvement of legal regulation and opportunities for alternative funding.

The working meetings at the Supreme Court, within the framework of the Joint Project of European Union and Council of Europe –“Regional Dialogue on judicial reform in the Eastern Partnership Countries” will complete with the wrap up discussions on December 11 this year.

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