On September 29-30, 2022, New Vision University’s Legal Ethics Chair, with support from the USAID Rule of Law Program, held online its Annual Conference on Legal Ethics. 

Ninety-three online attendees representing academia and legal practitioners heard about the ethical challenges facing judges, lawyers and mediators in Georgia, as well as issues related to judicial integrity, impartiality of the judge, and freedom of expression.

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Welcome notes were made by Head of Academic Board at New Vision University David Kereselidze and USAID Rule of Law Program Chief of Party Giorgi Chkheidze. The latter reiterated the Rule of Law Program’s continued interest and support in developing the ethical standards of legal practitioners in Georgia and stressed the importance of those ethical standards.

“Since 2017, New Vision University’s Legal Ethics Chairs organized five annual conferences. And today we are so glad to see this practice continues. These conferences help popularize legal ethics and encourage its teaching, and establishes a discussion forum for interested parties,” – said Sophio Chachava, Legal Ethics Co-Chair at New Vision University.

Key speakers of the conference included:  Ekaterine Gasitashvili - Supreme Court of Georgia Judge; Ketevan Meskhishvili - Tbilisi Court of Appeals Judge; Marika Arevadze - Member of the Georgian Bar Association Ethics Commission; Sophio Chachava - Legal Ethics Co-Chair at New Vision University;  Ana Loria - Member of the Georgian Bar Association Ethics Commission / Legal Ethics Co-Chair at New Vision University; Tamar Zambakhidze - Supreme Court of Georgia Judge; Irakli Kordzakhia - Lawyer and former Chair of the Georgian Bar Association Ethics Commission; and Sopo Dughashvili - Chair of the Mediators Association of Georgia’s Ethics Commission. 

The New Vision Legal Ethics Chair will continue this activity and conduct a second annual conferences on legal ethics in Batumi for regional participants in early next year.