The Council of Europe and the European Union presented review on compatibility with European Standards of Georgia’s Criminal Procedure Code and related legislative provisions bringing together international experts, representatives of state institutions, Judiciary, Public Defender’s Office, Parliament and Civil Society Organisations.
The review examines the compatibility with European standards of the Criminal Procedure Code, the provisions in the Criminal Code relevant to the conduct of criminal proceedings and the Law of Georgia on Operative Investigative Activities. The review highlights issues requiring more attention from state authorities and legislator. These are matters relating to the approach to legal drafting, the position of vulnerable persons, the arrangements for investigating complaints and the use of modern technology.
Furthermore, the review identifies individual provisions which need to be addressed. These include the arrangements for jury trial; the rights of victims; the conduct of undercover operations; the use of alternatives to detention; the granting of bail; the conduct of plea bargaining; ensuring equality of arms and an adversarial procedure; and the approach to sentencing and the serving of sentences imposed.
Participants of the meeting discussed findings of the review, current criminal justice legal framework and practice and exchanged ideas about follow up actions for further improvement. In addition, at the meeting participants learned about the findings of the Council of Europe’s expert review of the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes in the light of Gender equality. This report identifies provisions in the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes that may have a discriminatory impact on women and draws on standards as set forth in the CEDAW, the Istanbul Convention and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
The event is organised under the CoE/EU joint project "Supporting the criminal justice reforms - tackling criminal aspects of the judicial reforms in Georgia" which is funded by the European Union within the framework of Partnership for Good Governance programme
