On 22 -23 December 2014 witness and victim coordinators from various parts of Georgia met together in a workshop to discuss recent changes to criminal procedure legislation concerning the rights of victims and the ways to further reform the Service.  The workshop has been organised with the support of the Council of Europe.

The workshop started with the presentation of the activity report of the Witness and Victim Coordinator Service for 2013 -2014 and was followed by a discussion of the roles and functions of the coordinators in protecting the rights of participants to the criminal proceedings in view of the recent legislative developments.

During the two days coordinators had an opportunity to discuss the challenges they encounter in their daily work and identify areas for further improvement. Participants were divided into small groups to brainstorm on how to streamline the practices in order to make the Service more effective in protecting the rights of witnesses and victims. At the end of the workshop, recommendations were developed for the improvement of witness and victim coordinator’s guidelines.

Witness and Victim Coordinator Service is functional since August 2011.  Currently there are 17 coordinators designated in the Chief Prosecutor’s Office as well as regional and district offices of the Prosecution Service. The main functions of the Coordinator Service are informing the witnesses and victims about their case status, providing guidance and support in order to enable them to participate in the proceedings, and  providing emotional support, referrals, court accompaniment and information at each significant stage of criminal prosecution.