On April 29th, 2024, the Judges of the Constitutional Court of Georgia visited Grigol Robakidze University to engage with over 100 students and professors from the law school and share about the two recent decisions of the Constitutional Court on the right to education.

The Rector of the University, Mamuka Tavkhelidze opened the meeting by explaining the importance of the open academic discussions and the partnership with the Court and the USAID, giving the floor to the President of the Constitutional Court, Merab Turava, who continued the meeting with his welcome notes and moderated the discussion later involving two other Judges from the Constitutional Court, Mrs. Manana Kobakhidze and Mrs. Eva Gotsiridze.

Judge Kobakhidze delivered an extensive presentation on two cases: #2/7/1528 and #2/3/1559. In the former, the Constitutional Court, in reference to the first paragraph of Article 27 of the Constitution of Georgia, ruled the normative content of the challenged norms unconstitutional. These norms were deemed as excluding the recognition of higher education obtained through fully remote programs from foreign universities. In the latter case, #2/3/1559, the disputed norm deprived applicants (prospective students) of the right to request additional testing if they failed to appear at the unified national exams, regardless of whether the absence was due to an objective reason. The Constitutional Court concluded that neither in the interest of resource conservation nor in ensuring equitable evaluation of points could it be justified to limit the rights to receive higher education and state financing as provided for by the challenged provision.

The audience's questions prompted insightful explanations of the Constitutional Court's decision-making processes, including the professional discussions and arguments considered in each case.

Similar events covering the latest important decisions of the Constitutional Court will be held in the future with the support of the USAID Rule of Law Program.