News

2019

18

Jan

Participants of USAID/PROLoG’s July Study Tour Share their Experience with Colleagues at the Tbilisi Court of Appeals

On January 11, participants of the July 2018 USAID/PROLoG study tour shared their experience with colleagues at the Tbilisi Court of Appeals. The presentation was attended by 20 participants, including judges, judicial assistants, clerks and court staff. USAID/PROLoG representatives Bakar Jikia and Robert Maghlakelidze were also present.

Judges Tamar Oniani, Khatuna Arevadze and Giorgi Gogiashvili discussed their experience in the U.S., where the study tour participants held a number of meetings with key institutions of the U.S. judiciary system in Washington DC and San Francisco.
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2018

31

Dec

Participants of USAID/PROLoG’s October Judicial Exchanges Share their Experiences with Colleagues

In October 2018, USAID PROLoG brought 8 Georgian first instance judges to Washington DC as part of its expanded judicial exchange activities. USAID/PROLoG seeks to ensure that the knowledge gained through each activity reaches beyond the participants of the exchanges and asks the participants to share key lessons with others. In that connection, the following activities recently took place
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2018

31

Dec

USAID/PROLoG Supports Human Rights Academic Conference

On December 11, the National Institute for Human Rights at Free University organized the Third Annual Human Rights Conference within the framework of its USAID/PROLoG grant. The topic of the conference was the First Republic of Georgia and a retrospective on the political and legal aspects of the Republic. The topic was selected to commemorate the 100 years anniversary of the First Republic.

Noted scholars and researchers in the field discussed such issues as Georgia’s announcement of independence in 1918, international recognition of new Georgian state, the very progressive constitution of the democratic Republic, which endorsed equality before law, including of minority groups; the defense and security policy of the First Republic, the relationship between church and state, and many other interesting topics that are still relevant today.
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2018

31

Dec

Annual University Human Rights Week Successfully Completed

From December 3-10, under the framework of its USAID/PROLoG grant, Free University Tbilisi and nine other leading Georgian law schools organized the annual University Human Rights Week. Human Rights Week is an annual event that celebrates December 10 as Human Right Day and discusses human rights issues relevant to the legal community in Georgia. The main goal of the University Human Rights Week is to raise awareness of human rights issues among university students and other young Georgians, as well as instigate more active academic discussion on these topics.
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2018

31

Dec

USAID/PROLoG Continues Support of Human Rights Trainings for Judicial Assistants

From December 14-17, two two-day workshops on human rights were organized for judicial assistants from the regional courts of Georgia. The two parallel workshops were conducted by human rights experts Besarion Bokhashvili and Ekaterine Lomtatidze, and addressed topics such as Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (right to a fair trial). The workshop also worked to develop the legal assistants’ legal writing and substantiation skills.
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2018

26

Dec

Participants of the October 2018 Study Tour Share Their Experience with Judicial Assistants and Clerks at the Tbilisi City Court

On December 19, three Tbilisi City Court judges, participants in the October 2018 USAID/PROLoG study tour to Washington, DC, shared their experience with 22 judicial assistants and clerks at the Tbilisi City Court. These young legal professionals represent the largest group of potential future judges in Georgia, hence it is important to deliver the knowledge judges learn during judicial exchanges to them. USAID/PROLoG Deputy Chief of Party Neil Weinstein, as well as Judicial Education and Exchange Coordinator Bakar Jikia, were also present.

Judge Khatia Ardazishvili discussed her experience at the Family Court in Washington where the study tour participants had an opportunity to attend hearings in family violence cases and observe how U.S. judges were managing the courtroom and communicating with parties. Judge Ardazishvili noted how the U.S. judges adapted their approach and used less formal communication techniques with parties when necessary.
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2018

21

Dec

Presentation of Legislative Amendments Regulating Sexual Harassment

On December 19, USAID/PROLoG supported the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament to organize a public presentation of legislative amendments regulating sexual harassment. The meeting was opened by First Deputy Chairperson of Parliament Tamar Chugoshvili, USAID/Georgia Acting Mission Director Adam Schmidt, UN Women Country Representative to Georgia Erika Kvapilova, and Head of Partnership for Human Rights (PHR) Ana Arganashvili. USAID/PROLoG expert Nino Chikhladze then presented the proposed legislative changes on the regulation of sexual harassment. Representatives of the Public Defender’s Office and Ministry of Internal Affairs then shared their views on the proposed amendments, which was followed by a discussion in Q&A format.
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2018

21

Dec

USAID/PROLoG Supports the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence

USAID/PROLoG, together with its partners and legal aid grantees, launched the campaign “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” to raise awareness of gender-based violence and women’s rights in Georgia. 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign to challenge violence against women and girls. The campaign runs every year from November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to December 10, Human Rights Day. A series of events were organized to address the topic of the campaign, including:
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2018

14

Dec

USAID/PROLoG Supports Conference on Women’s Labor Rights

On December 11, USAID/PROLoG supported the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament to organize a conference on “Women, Labor, Rights.” The Conference was held in the framework of Human Rights Week 2018. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the existing practices and challenges in women’s pre-contractual and labor relations, as well as future prospects for reform.
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2018

13

Dec

USAID/PROLoG-funded GDI Presents Report on “Litigation for Equality” Activities

On December 12, non-governmental organization Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI) held a presentation of the final report prepared under the framework of its USAID/PROLoG-funded legal aid project "Litigation for Equality." The report analyzes the legal status of women from religious and ethnic minorities in Georgia and overviews activities carried out within the framework of the project. The report highlights the legal aid activities carried out by GDI’s lawyers and describes the strategic litigation cases they successfully litigated during the project. Representatives of non-state and state institutions, including the head of the Ministry of Internal Affair’s Human Rights Department and representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office, attended the meeting and participated in the discussion. GDI also involved their regionally-based intern-activists in the discussion to highlight the importance of having representatives of the local population participate in projects focused on supporting people living in regions. The intern-activists from Samtskhe-Javakheti and Adjara shared their experience and expressed gratitude to GDI and USAID/PROLoG for the support to their communities and the knowledge and experience they gained related to human rights as a result of the project.
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