Georgia: Enhancing the accountability and the efficiency of the judicial system and the professionalism of lawyers
January 2020 – February 2023
The activities are organised in the framework of the Project “Support to further strengthening the efficiency and quality of the judicial system in the Republic of Moldova”, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance II.
An earlier phase of this programme (January 2015 - December 2017) was supported by the European Union.
Context of the Project
The CEPEJ started working in Georgia in the framework of the European Union / Council of Europe Joint project “Implementation of judicial reforms”, Component “Enhancing the accountability and the efficiency of the judicial system and the professionalism of lawyers” which is part of PGG II. The Project is in line with the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2020 – 2023, and in line with the EU priorities, as defined in the “Eastern Partnership – 20 Deliverables for 2020” which underline the need to evaluate the impact of the implemented key judicial reforms in Georgia.
Objectives of the Project
The objectives of the Project are to assist the Georgian authorities to:
- to reduce judicial delays and backlogs in courts
- to strengthen data and judicial statistics collection for courts, case management and judicial services by providing practical advises, tools and methodology;
- to improve judicial training and court management by working at the levels of the High School of Justice and courts.
Expected outcomes
- The efficiency and quality of courts are enhanced through the application of CEPEJ tools, methodology and recommendations at national level;
- The mechanisms for judicial transparency and accountability are strengthened;
- Court users benefit from more accountable, transparent and efficient functioning of the court system.
Project beneficiaries and stakeholders
The main beneficiaries and stakeholders of the Project are the High Council of Justice, the High School of Justice, the Courts of General Jurisdiction and the court users.
Council of Europe office in Tbilissi (Georgia)
Ushangi Bakhtadze
Project Officer
Gvantsa Gedenidze
Project Assistant
Translated CEPEJ documents
- Case weighting in judicial systems - CEPEJ Studies No. 28 (2020)
- Toolkit for the implementation of the Guidelines on Cyberjustice (CEPEJ(2019)7)
- European Ethical Charter on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Judicial Systems and their environment (2018)
- Guidelines on how to drive change towards Cyberjustice (CEPEJ(2016)13)
- Declaration on lessons learnt and Challenges faced by the judiciary during and after the Covid-19 Pandemic
- Good practice guide on Structural measures to improve the functioning of civil and administrative justice in addition to the effective domestic remedies required by Article 13 of the ECHR (CEPEJ(2016)14)
- Handbook for conducting satisfaction surveys aimed at Court users in Council of Europe's member States (CEPEJ(2016)15)
- Measuring the quality of justice (CEPEJ(2016)12
- Implementation guide "Towards European timeframes for judicial proceedings" (CEPEJ(2016)5)
- Guidelines of the CEPEJ SATURN Centre for judicial time management – comments and implementation examples (CEPEJ-SATURN(2015)2)
- Guidelines on the Creation of Judicial Maps to Support Access to Justice within a Quality Judicial System (CEPEJ(2013)7Rev)
- CEPEJ Guidelines on judicial statistics (GOJUST) (CEPEJ(2008)11
- Saturn guidelines for judicial time management (CEPEJ(2008)8)
- European judicial systems - Edition 2008 (data 2006) : Overview
- Compendium of “best practices” on time management of judicial proceedings (CEPEJ(2006)13
Closing event of the CEPEJ project in Georgia
The closing event of the CEPEJ component of the project “Enhancing the accountability and the efficiency of the judicial system and the professionalism of lawyers” in Georgia implemented under the Partnership for Good Governance II (PGGII) was held on 3 February 2023. On this occasion the main...
Presentation of the report on "Remote Court Hearings in Criminal Cases in Georgia"
On 10 February 2022, the Report "Remote Court Hearings in Criminal Cases in Georgia" prepared by João Arsénio de Oliveira, expert of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) and chairman of the CEPEJ Working group on quality of Justice, was presented to justice professionals,...
The CEPEJ is presenting the Strategy and Action Plan on the development of the Supreme Court of Georgia 2021-2023
On 2 December 2021, the CEPEJ presented the Strategy and Action Plan on the development of the Supreme Court of Georgia 2021-2023, in presence of the Chief Justice Nino Kadagidze and other Supreme Court judges. The CEPEJ has identified several areas of development of the functioning of the...
The CEPEJ supports a Court Managers’ Forum in Georgia
On 26 and 27 November 2021, the CEPEJ will support a Court Managers’ Forum for court managers from all the courts in Georgia. The first day will be devoted to the development of electronic case management rule of the Courts and the definition of the next steps towards its implementation. During...
Presentation of the Analysis on how CEPEJ methods can be applied on judicial statistics in Georgia
On 25 June 2021 from 12 until 2 pm Georgian time (10 am to 12 Strasbourg/French time), the CEPEJ will organise an online seminar to present the analysis of existing data and statistical reporting processes to demonstrate how CEPEJ methods can be applied with the aim to guide and support policy...
Webinar on reasonable length of proceedings and case backlog in Georgian courts
Among the series of webinars dedicated to “Judicial proceedings within reasonable time”, this second webinar organised on 3rd of June, was to present the concept of CEPEJ timeframes in conformity with Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights as well as to explain the notion of...
Breaking judges’ isolation during COVID19 pandemic on the agenda of the CEPEJ in Latvia and Georgia
The CEPEJ Guidelines to improve the judge's skills and competences, strengthen knowledge sharing and collaboration, and move beyond a culture of judicial isolation provide concrete tools to remedy to judicial isolation which could have been worsened with the health crisis. The CEPEJ activities in...
CEPEJ evaluation Report on judicial systems, Edition 2020 : Online presentation of data concerning Georgia
On 17 November 2020, the CEPEJ presented the main trends and data concerning Georgia, extracted from the CEPEJ Evaluation Report on judicial systems. The event, in which Ms Nino Bakakuri, judge at the Supreme Court and CEPEJ member for Georgia, participated, was addressed to Georgian judges,...
Workshop on how to improve the relations between the judiciary and the media in Georgia
On 7 October 2020, a webinar will be organised for the Georgian judicial professionals on media and communication skills with focus on social and new media. This workshop will be based on the Guide on communication with the media and the public for courts and prosecuting authorities developed by...
CEPEJ ensures participation of partner institutions of cooperation programs into SATURN working group meeting
On 18 May 2020, representatives of the partner institutions of the Judiciary of Georgia, Latvia, Slovak Republic attended the meeting of the SATURN working group on judicial timeframes of the CEPEJ. The meeting focused on the project concerning the development of a tool to implement a...
The CEPEJ concretely involved in the implementation of judicial reforms in Georgia
The CEPEJ experts, Mr Vincent Rochefort and Mr Georg Stawa have started the evaluation of the administrative organisation of the Georgian courts and its non-judicial staff with a view to developing recommendations and guidelines concerning the evaluation of non-judicial staff. The analysis of the...
Collaborative workspaces: