On 22-24 April,  2016 a training session for the staff of  Public Defender’s Office of Georgia (PDO) on “Acting as Amicus Curiae” was organized jointly by the Council of Europe (CoE) and PDO in Georgia. Training was delivered by national and international consultants with the purpose to further strengthen the Public Defender’s Office in the submission of amicus curiae to the Constitutional Court and common courts. Specifically the training focused on following: assistance to the courts to reach a fair and balanced decision based on applicable standards of international human rights law; modern techniques of legal reasoning and strategic litigation; methodology of identifying the cases and preparation of third party interventions; writing skills for authors of amicus curiae; tools and methods for comprehensive legal research. As a result of the training PDO staff has increased knowledge on how to write amicus curiae, how to identify relevant cases and how to use amicus curiae in further respect for human rights and preventing violations of rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Georgia and international human rights documents.

The training was conducted within the framework of the project “Improving the operational Capacities of the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia” funded by  the (CoE)   Human Rights Trust Fund.