On March 21- 22, 2024, the Georgian Bar Association (GBA) with USAID Rule of Law Program support held a meeting with civil society representatives, and the Public Defender's Office (PDO) to discuss challenges within Georgia's judicial system.

Twenty-three attendees, including the members of the Executive Board of the GBA, Justice and Judicial Reforms Committee, the PDO and the Coalition for Independent and Transparent Judiciary actively participated in the discussions.

David Asatiani, GBA Chairman and Levan Ioseliani, Public Defender of Georgia made opening remarks and noted the importance of exchanging information and collaborating on such important topics as future development of judicial system in Georgia. 

During the meeting, parties exchanged information on their current activities, including past initiatives. GBA Justice and Judicial Reform Committee Co-chair Sophio Sokadze reviewed the work of the Committee and stressed the importance of GBA’s involvement in the selection process of Supreme Court judicial candidates.  She also spoke about the mechanism/criteria GBA developed last year for evaluating judicial candidates of the first and second instance courts as well as analytical report regarding case backlogs at courts and potential solutions. GBA Executive Director, Giorgi Tshekhani presented the GBA’s views on establishing a trustworthy, transparent, and quality judicial system in Georgia and what needs to be done in these directions.

Participants also discussed the recommendation of the European Commission regarding integrity check of judges. Coalition representatives presented their research and views on a legislative framework of the integrity check and other practical aspects of this procedure which resulted in a comprehensive discussion of potential risks and challenges of the procedure.