On February 18-19, 2023, the USAID Rule of Law Program gathered the Child Rights Practice Group judge members to discuss challenges in the adjudication of child separation cases after the adoption of the Code on the Rights of a Child, such as the deadlines of adjudication and revision mechanisms.

Held in Kutaisi, the speakers at the meeting included: Tbilisi Court of Appeals Judge Tamar Oniani (online presentation) and Kutaisi City Court Judge Mikheil Bebiashvili. The discussion panels were moderated by Tbilisi Court of Appeals Judge Shota Getsadze.

The participants learned about the U.S. experience in cases involving the separation of a child from their parents from the USAID Rule of Law Program-invited American Judge James Redwine.

“That is a fairly typical procedure in a child separation case in America, and there are multiple levels of protection for the rights and welfare of children and the rights of parents. In my experience, permanent removal, that is termination of parental rights, is quite rare on a percentage basis in Family Court cases. Usually, with psychological counseling and social services – including medical, mental, and legal services – a family can be allowed to stay as a nuclear unit.” – said Judge Redwine.

The participants stressed the importance of establishing unified best practices across all courts and the need for high standards of protection of child’s rights, as required by the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. The discussion was another step forward in the acknowledgment of the importance of improving court practice in child-parent separation cases.