On May 21-22 (2022), 16 members of court staff representing the Khashuri Regional Court took part in USAID Rule of Law Program training on effective services and communication with court users.

In his welcome notes, USAID Rule of Law Program Chief of Party Giorgi Chkheidze emphasized the aim of the training stressing upon the importance of improving the quality of interaction between the court personnel and court users, which also forms part of the Program’s overarching goal to make court services in Georgia more people-centered.

Community Engagement Advisor at the USAID Rule of Law Program Dr Tim Bunjevac delivered a session on court-community engagement practices around the world. The participants learned about successful examples of court outreach activities designed to increase public trust toward the courts

The participants were the members of court personnel who have direct and frequent interaction with the public, including court assistants, chancellery workers and bailiffs.

"Court users’ interaction with the court starts from the bailiff service. Therefore, based on the practical exercises we covered in the seminar, the training enabled me to realize what my colleagues and I were doing well and what we needed to improve for better serving the court users.” – said Giorgi Lomitashvili, Head of Khashuri Court Bailiff.

“The mixture of theory inputs and practical exercises were connected by continuous review, discussion and feedback. At the end of the training we were able to test our skills during role-plays and also received developmental feedback from the trainer.“–said Tinatin Gomarteli, Court Clerk.

Court Manager Gocha Melikidze emphasized that the training enabled him to be more open in the relationship and remove some of the complexes. According to him, the information about the standards of communication, as well as the session on nonverbal communication, were of utmost importance to him, and he will certainly use those skills in everyday practice.

The Training Program led by local expert Nino Beruashvili was exciting and challenging on both an intellectual and practical level. The Program combined modern approaches on effective communication and customer service with practical exercises where individuals are challenged to use their abilities to deliver results. Using practical examples and tips, the participants were able to learn and discuss such topics as the barriers to effective communication with court users, perception bias, building rapport, active listening, non-verbal communication, positive formation, and managing difficult situations. The expert also provided written Standards for User Interaction to the participants, which contains guiding rules and principles for communicating with the public. By the end of the two-day session, the participants evaluated the training as very informative and expressed a willingness to engage in similar activities in the future.