Improving the operational capacities of the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia
The main partners and beneficiaries of the Project were the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia (PDO) within its mandate to bring a better level of human rights protection in Georgia and promote Human Rights awareness among the general public; the Constitutional Court of Georgia and Courts of common jurisdiction with respect of using amicus curiae mechanism while deliberation of court cases.
The main objectives were:
- to improve the legal framework of the work of Public Defender of Georgia;
- to strengthen the capacity of the PDO of Georgia in submission of amicus curiae to the Constitutional Court and common courts;
- to contribute to the strengthening of the PDO’s in the regions to deal with individual cases;
- to strengthen the PDO’s analytical skills in dealing with issues such as the fight against intolerance, the protection of vulnerable persons, the protection of social rights and the fight against ill-treatment.
The following results were expected:
- the law on the PDO is amended in in line with the relevant international standards and namely Paris Principles;
- the number of amicus curiae to the Constitutional Court and common courts increases and are taken on board in the court rulings;
- regional offices of the Public Defender are operational and are able to deal directly with individual cases;
- lawyers and staff of the PDO are equipped to deal with individual cases and to prepare analytical reports on issues such as the fight against intolerance, the protection of social rights and the fight against ill-treatment and the protection of vulnerable groups including children, persons with disabilities, LGBT persons and victims of domestic violence;
- the Human Rights Academy strengthens its capacity to deliver human rights awareness training for general public through integration of the ECHR component and HELP methodology and is able to ensure a long-term and ongoing training process.
Project information
- Duration: 24 months (02 February 2015 - 31 January 2017)
- Place/ country: Georgia
- Budget: 500 000 €
- Funding: Human Rights Trust Fund
Experts opinions
Needs assessments reports
Publication
Closing conference of the Councill of Europe project "Improving the operational capacities of the Public Defender's Office in Georgia"
On 24 January 2017, the Council of Europe organised the closing conference for the Project “Improving the operational capacities of the Public Defender's Office in Georgia” funded by the Human Right Trust Fund (HRTF). The purpose of the conference was to sum up the project’s achievements, discuss...
Training on “Forensic Photography”
On 28-30 October 2016 Council of Europe in co-operation with the Public Defender’s Office (PDO) of Georgia organized training on “Forensic Photography”. From September 1, 2016, based on the amendments made to article 60 of the Imprisonment Code, the Public Defender and members of the Special...
Conference on “Amicus Curiae: an effective guidance tool on human rights issues to national judicial institutions”
The conference aims to stress the importance of the amicus curiae role for the Public Defender’s Office (PDO) and to provide the Georgian judiciary with the rationale behind third party interventions. The conference will open a public debate at national level among the key stakeholders in charge...