Council of Europe Project “Support to the Judicial Reform in Georgia” hosted a round-table discussion dedicated to the role of the Consultative Council of European Judges (“CCJE”) and its Opinions in the Member States. Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, Cristian Urse opened the discussion highlighting the role CCJE Opinions have played in the drafting of the Judicial Strategy of Georgia 2017-2021. Chief Justice, Nino Gvenetadze reiterated CCJE Opinion’s significance in guiding judicial work, both on individual and institutional level. She further recalled the recent expertise provided by the current Project, based on which legislative amendments on Supreme Court Justices’ appointment and selection criteria were drafted. High Council of Justice member, Judge Dimitri Gvritishvili provided examples on applying CCJE Opinions in the so-called “4th wave judicial reform” process, mainly on judicial discipline and evaluation.

CCJE President Judge Duro Sessa overviewed the context and preparatory works of the CCJE Opinions, also highlighting this body’s mandate in providing country-specific reports. The presentations were followed by discussion, including on the court presidents’ role. Judges, High Council of Justice representatives, court managers, judicial assistants, members of Parliament, Ministry of Justice representatives, academia, non-governmental and international organisations attended the meeting.

The participants received the updated compendium of the CCJE Opinions in Georgian and English.

The round table meeting was organised as well as the CCJE Opinions were published, within the framework of the Council of Europe project “Support to the Judicial Reform in Georgia” funded by the voluntary contributions of Bulgaria, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Norway, the Slovak Republic and Sweden to support the implementation of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2016-2019.