Supreme Court of Georgia

The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) evaluated Georgian Judicial System

Published: 09/28/2012

According to the conclusion of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) published in 2012, Georgian judicial system has one of the best performances and in some aspects is on the first place.
The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) was set up by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in September 2002, and is entrusted primarily with proposing concrete solutions, suitable for use by Council of Europe member states. According to its Statute, the CEPEJ must examine the results achieved by the different judicial systems by using, amongst other things, common statistical criteria and means of evaluation, define problems and areas for possible improvements and exchange views on the functioning of the judicial systems, identify concrete ways to improve the measuring and functioning of the judicial systems of the member states, having regard to their specific needs. The CEPEJ shall fulfill these tasks, for instance, by identifying and developing indicators, collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative figures, and defining measures and means of evaluation, and drawing up reports, statistics, best practice surveys, guidelines, action plans, opinions and general comments. The statute thus emphasizes the comparison of judicial systems and the exchange of knowledge on how they function.
The evaluation gives us the detailed information about all factors, which provide existence of qualitative and efficient judiciary. One of the main factors for these indicators is the speed of trial and the efficient execution of judiciary. In this significant parameter column Georgia is the first above the other 35 states. Moreover, compared to previous years, percentage indicator of incoming and effectively resolved cases in short time frame increased at 106 percentages.
The CEPEJ commission gave the separate analyzes in each fields of law. The number of resolved civil and administrative cases at the first instance courts is increased at 44 percentages. According to the findings, Georgia is ranked on the seventh place after England, Denmark, Armenia, Romania, France and Switzerland ahead. According to the conclusion of the CEPEJ commission, significant attention is paid to the length of proceedings. Because, when execution of justice is delayed, it equals not only to inefficient justice, but perhaps it should be considered as refusal of the administration of justice.
Besides the length of proceedings, the CEPEJ commission undermined the increasing number of civil and administrative cases. According to the findings, the number of resolved cases increased at 25 percentages, compare to 2006-2008 years. In this aspect Georgia has the highest index with Portugal, Macedonia and Estonia.
According to the general analysis of the CEPEJ commission conclusion, Georgian judicial system is on the first place in effective examination of cases in reasonable time. And also, simultaneously, increasing number of civil and administrative litigious cases filed in the courts, according to the assessment of the European experts, is the result of increased public trust towards the judiciary.