On 12-13 May 2017 the Georgian Bar Association hosted in Tbilisi the Second International Conference on Modern Challenges of the Legal Profession. The Conference was organised with the support of the Council of Europe, European Union Delegation in Georgia, UNDP Georgia and EWMI PROLOG.

The Conference brought together representatives of  Bar Associations from 12 countries. Lawyers discussed the most pressing issues related to terrorism and privacy and client-lawyer relation; exclusivity of legal profession and possible boundaries; personal data protection and the use by legal professionals of the social media. As the Chair of the Parliament of Georgia highlighted in the opening remarks: "Lawyers play a crucial role not only in defending individuals’ rights but also in ensuring the balance of power among the three branches of state power”. Mrs. Maria Slazak, the former President of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe, underlined the significance of the participation of the President of the country and the Parliament Chair at this Conference “as it brings assurance to believe that the progress in defending lawyers’ rights in Georgia is to be further advanced with authorities’ support”. The participants agreed to continue the tradition and hold such Conference in the upcoming years as well.

The activity was co-funded by the Council of Europe Project "Support to the Judicial Reform in Georgia". This Project is funded by voluntary contributions of Bulgaria, Liechtenstein, Norway, Slovakia and Sweden to support the implementation of the Council of Europe Action plan for Georgia 2016-2019.