The annual International Conference of Advocates took place in Tbilisi, Georgia on 8 November 2019. This year, the Conference also coincides with the centennial celebration of the profession of lawyer in Georgia. The Conference brought together Bar Presidents and advocates from more than 20 countries, as well as high-level representatives from the professional international organisations to offer peer-exchange opportunities on the currently pressing issues.

Davit Asatiani, Chair of the Georgian Bar Association, Cristian Urse, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, and Jose De Freitas, President of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe addressed the participants.

More than 400 delegates had the possibility to participate in the discussion focusing on the three main aspects: lawyers’ independence, dialogue with the judiciary and the ethical boundaries while on social media. This annual International Conference, upon Council of Europe support has now formed as a traditional peer-exchange platform that has enabled bar representatives to share challenges and seek for solutions since 2016.

The Conference is co-organised in partnership with the Georgian Bar Association and is supported by the Council of Europe project “Support to the Judicial Reform in Georgia” funded by voluntary contributions of Bulgaria, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, the Slovak Republic and Sweden to support the implementation of the Council of Europe Action plan for Georgia 2016-2019.