On March 2-3, 2024, the USAID Rule of Law Program supported a Child’s Rights Rule of Law Practice Group meeting in Likani, which brought together fifteen judges of various courts as well as the fifteen representatives of the Georgian Bar Association (GBA), the Legal Aid Service (LAS), the State Care Agency and various child’s rights organizations.

At the beginning of the meeting, Judge Tamar Oniani of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals addressed challenges in child representation within Georgian legislation and practice.

Tamar Gabodze, Chairperson of Partnership for Human Rights and Nino Meladze, LAS Deputy Director also shared their experiences on the topic.

Human rights experts spoke about international standards. Expert and the GBA Ethics Commission Member, Besarion Bokhashvili, presented the standards developed by the Council of Europe Institutions (ECtHR, Committee of Ministers), while U.S. expert and Professor of University of Pennsylvania (Carey Law School) Kara R. Finck discussed the best practices and ethical considerations for child representation in U.S. courts.

Tbilisi City Court Judge Manana Meskhishvili, Chairman of GBA Ethics Commission Konstantine Gelashvili, Head of Legal Department at LAS Shorena Bochorishvili, and Head of the Legal Provision Department at the State Care Agency Irma Aladashvili offered their legal perspectives on the distinction between legal counsel and procedural representative roles. This led to a focused audience discussion and showed that there is a need for more discussion and collaboration to establish a unified understanding and case law.