Georgia: Enhancing the accountability and the efficiency of the judicial system and the professionalism of lawyers

January 2020 – February 2023

The activities are organised in the framework of the Project “Support to further strengthening the efficiency and quality of the judicial system in the Republic of Moldova”, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance II.

An earlier phase of this programme (January 2015 - December 2017) was supported by the European Union.

Context of the Project

The CEPEJ started working in Georgia in the framework of the European Union / Council of Europe Joint project “Implementation of judicial reforms”, Component “Enhancing the accountability and the efficiency of the judicial system and the professionalism of lawyers” which is part of PGG II. The Project is in line with the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2020 – 2023, and in line with the EU priorities, as defined in the “Eastern Partnership – 20 Deliverables for 2020” which underline the need to evaluate the impact of the implemented key judicial reforms in Georgia.

Objectives of the Project

The objectives of the Project are to assist the Georgian authorities to:

to reduce judicial delays and backlogs in courts
to strengthen data and judicial statistics collection for courts, case management and judicial services by providing practical advises, tools and methodology;
to improve judicial training and court management by working at the levels of the High School of Justice and courts.

Expected outcomes

The efficiency and quality of courts are enhanced through the application of CEPEJ tools, methodology and recommendations at national level;
The mechanisms for judicial transparency and accountability are strengthened;
Court users benefit from more accountable, transparent and efficient functioning of the court system.

Project beneficiaries and stakeholders

The main beneficiaries and stakeholders of the Project are the High Council of Justice, the High School of Justice, the Courts of General Jurisdiction and the court users.

Contacts

Council of Europe - Strasbourg

Jovana Matic

Project coordinator

+33 (0)3 90 21 63 68

Council of Europe office in Tbilissi (Georgia)

Ushangi Bakhtadze
Project Officer

Gvantsa Gedenidze
Project Assistant

Translated CEPEJ documents

Newsroom

Back Presentation of the report on "Remote Court Hearings in Criminal Cases in Georgia"

On 10 February 2022, the Report "Remote Court Hearings in Criminal Cases in Georgia" prepared by João Arsénio de Oliveira, expert of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) and chairman of the CEPEJ Working group on quality of Justice, was presented to justice professionals, namely judges, court managers, public prosecutors and lawyers, as well as to representatives of Ministry of Justice and academia. The presentation focused on advantages and disadvantages of remote hearings in criminal proceedings, while also proposing recommendations to Georgian authorities on how to ensure that all guarantees to a fair trial under European Convention on Human Rights and CEPEJ standards apply to remote hearings in judicial proceedings.

During the presentation, the expert also highlighted the importance of the recently adopted CEPEJ Guidelines on videoconferencing in the judicial proceedings and introduced its main principles for the first time to Georgian partners.

The event was organised in the framework of the Project “Enhancing the accountability and the efficiency of the judicial system and the professionalism of lawyers” funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance II.

Georgia 10 February 2022