News

2018

08

Nov

USAID/PROLoG Co-Organizes International Conference on the Role of Women in the Judiciary

A full-day international conference on ‘The Role of Women in the Judiciary’ was held in Tbilisi on November 5. It involved representatives of the High Council of Justice, the Supreme Court of Georgia, judges from courts of all three instances, international organizations working with the judicial system, as well as international experts.

The discussions focused on important topics, including women’s participation in the judiciary, gender stereotyping, and the impact of gender diversity on judicial decision making. Among the presenters were experts from Georgia, Europe and the United States, including judges Renate Winter, Aneta Arnaudovska, Katica Ardukovic, and Magistrate Avril Calder.
Continue..
2018

07

Nov

USAID/PROLoG Continues Support to Georgian Bar Association CLE Program

USAID/PROLoG continues its efforts to enhance the GBA’s training capacity in the area of human rights. As part of this effort, in Spring 2018 PROLoG developed four course modules for GBA:

1) case law of the European Court of Human Rights concerning Georgia (civil and administrative),

2) case law of the European Court of Human Rights concerning Georgia (criminal)

3) role of a fair trial in the protection of property rights,

4) persuasive legal writing.

All courses were designed in an interactive way. PROLoG then conducted Training of Trainer workshops for GBA trainers on these topics, as a result of which GBA has built a pool of thirty qualified trainers. These GBA trainers delivered 22 CLE trainings on the new courses to their colleagues this Fall, training about 440 lawyers. In November, eight more training will be delivered by GBA trainers on these topics.
Continue..
2018

05

Nov

USAID/PROLoG Organizes Third Study Tour to the U.S. for Civil and Administrative Judges

From October 20-27, eight civil and administrative first instance judges traveled to Washington, D.C. for a study tour of the U.S. judicial system. The majority of judges were from the regions of Georgia, and both regular judges and court chairs were included in the delegation.

The study tour included meetings at the Federal Judicial Center and the Administrative Office of the U.S. federal courts, where participants were introduced to U.S. practices regarding judicial ethics, judicial appointments, and judicial leadership, as well as electronic filing. The participants also had a private tour of the U.S. Supreme Court, gaining access to areas of the Court that are not open to the general public.
Continue..
2018

31

Oct

Participants of the Study Visit to Washington DC and San Francisco Share their Experience with Colleagues

In July 2018, eight civil and administrative appellate judges and one appellate judicial assistant, the winner of the USAID/PROLoG-supported first “Judicial Academy,” traveled to Washington, D.C. and San Francisco for a study tour of the U.S. judicial system. On October 17, three participants of the visit, the judges of the Kutaisi Court of Appeals who participated in the July judicial exchange, organized an extended discussion to discuss the experience and knowledge acquired during the visit. The presentation was attended by other judges of the court, judicial assistants, clerks and other court personnel, lawyers, prosecutors, and representatives of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association Kutaisi office.
Continue..
2018

29

Oct

USAID/PROLoG Expert Brian LeDuc conducted a preliminary assessment of the causes of case delays and backlogs in Georgian courts

The USAID/PROLoG supported a preliminary assessment of the causes of reported increases in case delays and backlogs in Georgian courts. For this purpose, the PROLoG expert Brian LeDuc came to Georgia for two weeks and conducted a series of meetings with more than twenty judges as well as the court support staff in Tbilisi and Gori City Courts. The expert also reviewed available data to familiarize what courts are doing to address case delays, and what data is being collected to track delays and backlogs.

Brian LeDuc held separate meetings with the HCOJ members; Mzia Todua, the acting Chief of the Supreme Court; Nino Bakakuri, the Judge of the Supreme Court and a National Correspondent at the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) and representatives of the Department of Common Courts.
Continue..
2018

29

Oct

Company Law Course for Judicial Assistants Completed with USAID/PROLoG's Support

USAID/PROLoG, in cooperation with the High School of Justice (HSoJ) organized three trainings on Corporate Law and Governance in Georgia and the EU in July, September and October 2018. The course was developed with the support of international and local experts retained by USAID/PROLoG and German International Development Agency (GIZ), last year, and then piloted with a team of judge-trainers. This round of trainings was conducted independently by two judge-trainers Natalia Nazghaidze and Irma Peranidze.
Continue..
2018

29

Oct

Series of Workshops on Teaching Methodology of Introduction to Law Courses

During September-October period, Free University Tbilisi in the framework of its USAID/PROLoG grant conducted series of workshops on Teaching Methodology. The main goal of this activity was to develop teaching methodologies and materials for the ‘Introduction to Law’ course and improve teaching quality of the introductory courses of law through empowerment of young faculty members who teach these courses at different Universities in Tbilisi.
Continue..
2018

29

Oct

USAID/PROLoG Continues to Support Public Discussions on Human Rights Issues

On October 25, USAID/PROLoG-supported Human Rights Chair at Ilia State University organized a public discussion on “Constitutional Litigation in Georgia regarding Marijuana Decriminalization”. Tamar Gurchiani - Human Rights Chair and Associate Professor at Ilia State University, Ketevan Eremadze - Associate Professor at Ilia State University and former judge of Constitutional Court of Georgia (CCG), Vakhushti Menabde – Associate Professor at Ilia State University, and Sopho Verdzeuli - Director of Democracy and Justice Program at Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) were speakers of the discussion. The speakers talked about the role of the Constitutional Court of Georgia in the process of liberalization of drug policy in Georgia. They also discussed initiated draft laws to enforce CCG’s decisions with regard to liberalization of drug policy. The discussion was attended by fifty participants, mainly students, professors and human rights lawyers.
Continue..
2018

29

Oct

USAID/PROLoG organized a presentation for the High Council of Justice (HCOJ) on Strategic Communication

On October 24 USAID/PROLoG organized a presentation on the Concepts of Strategic Communication by Vivian S. Walker for the High Council of Justice. Adam Schmidt, Director, Democracy, Governance and Social Development at USAID Georgia, opened the meeting. Vivian S. Walker, an expert in Public Diplomacy and Strategic Communication spoke about the key elements of strategic communication and the importance of strategic communication plan. A number of judiciary specific topics were discussed at the meeting, and as it was demonstrated by the open discussion, the topics captured interest of the HCOJ members.

Vivian S. Walker is an outstanding expert in Public diplomacy, Strategic communication and Counter Disinformation. She is a Faculty Fellow at USC Center on Public Diplomacy, Adjunct Professor at Central European University and a Strategic Communications Advisor and Trainer in Ukraine and Georgia.
Continue..
2018

29

Oct

Free University Hosts Presentation of the New Amicus Brief

On October 8, under its USAID/ PROLoG’s grant, Free University organized a presentation of an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief. For several years now, Free University, in cooperation with the Washburn University School of Law (WUSL) (USA), has worked together on amicus curiae briefs submitted to the Constitutional Court of Georgia. Through this effort, students at Free University constitutional law clinic and WUSL work together on complex legal issues and hone their research and writing skills on cases pending at the Constitutional Court.
Continue..