Supreme Court of Georgia

Delegation of the Supreme Court in Strasbourg

Published: 05/30/2018

The supreme court delegation headed by  the Deputy  Chairperson  of the  Supreme Court of Georgia, chairperson of the chamber of civil cases  ,Ms. Mzia Todua , left Strasburg  after three days visit organized  by  the  CoE  Justice and Legal Cooperation Department’s project “Support to the  Judicial Reform in Georgia”   

The delegation included the Judges of the Civil Cases Chambe Ms. Ekaterine Gasitashvili  and Mr. Zurab Dzlierishvili; Head of the Analytical Department of the Supreme Court Ms.Marina Kvachadze , also, the head of  the  Communications and Coordination direction Ms.Anna Shalamberidze , the winner of the “Winter School” Ms.Nino Bagashvili  and  the assistant to the Judge of the Civil Cases Chamber of Tbilisi Court of Appeals , Ms.Tamta Kenia .

Fifteen meetings were held within three days with the Council of Europe`s Directorate of Human Rights and Rule of Law, the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), the Secretariat of the European Commission for Justice Efficiency (CEPEJ), the Department of Legal Cooperation and Secretariat of the Group of States Against Corruption ( GRECO) , European Commissioner for Human Rights, the secretariat of the  Group of Experts against Women Violence and Domestic Violence (GREVIO).

 Georgian judges and members of the delegation met with the judge of the European Court of Human Rights, Mr. Egidigus Kouris, who represents Lithuania.

On May 23, Georgian delegation attended the hearing of the case  Georgia v. Russia at the   European Court of Human Rights . (II) (no. 38263/08).

Amendments to the legislation and existing challenges within the third wave of justice reform were discussed with the representatives of the European Council.

Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court Mzia Todua has noted that the works on  the judicial system proper functioning, the independence of the court and the strengthening of Judges individual role , for the reinforcement of their impartiality standard continues within the working group  of  the Supreme Court, Ministry of Justice and the Parliament of Georgia  . Also donor organizations and non-governmental organizations supporting justice reform are participating in this group`s workshops.

During the working visit was positively assessed the Electronic distribution system of cases, enacted from January 1, 2018 in common courts. Also, the publicity of the sessions of the High Council of Justice of Georgia  and the  fact  that   the  collegial body, in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law, publicly reviews recommendations and remarks published in the Public Defender`s report, as well as the addresses of the Georgian Bar Association, various ministries and agencies.

Georgian delegation emphasized the importance of involvement of NGOs and media in assessing the events in the judiciary.

Within the framework of the visit, the discussion was held  about the amendment to the Organic Law of Georgia on Common Courts, related to the possibility of the  appeal the decision of the High Council of Justice of Georgia in the Qualification Chamber  of the Supreme Court of Georgia.

The Georgian delegation pointed out that active work on gender issues should continue.

Georgia has ratified the Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention),in 2017 , Which came into action in September 1 of the same year.Since 2016 the trainings has started, However, it is still very important work is to be done not only within  the narrow professional circles but the complex approach to protecting women`s rights and their interests, for the purpose of preventing violent behavior.

During the meeting with the Lithuanian colleague the judges of the Supreme Court discussed the application of powers granted to the Supreme and Constitutional Court based on the entry into force of the Additional Protocol No.16 of the Convention on Human Rights. The European Court of Human Rights Judge Egidigus Kouris noted that there are significant challenges and possible contradictions in the implementation of the Additional Protocol No.16 which, obviously, only at theoretical level creates the possibility to talk about the threats, but the other issue is the problem arising in practice, which may take a certain period to identify issues of concern and specific needs.