Landslides can threaten the right to life and shelter of affected populations, necessitating government action to prevent casualties and provide adequate housing and assistance. 

On September 19, 2023, the Socrates Club at Ilia State University School of Law, with the support of the USAID Rule of Law Program, hosted a discussion on the case "Budayeva & others v. Russia."

The case revolves around the landslide that occurred in the city of Tiranuz in 2000.  Budayeva argued that the state did not take appropriate measures and did not implement the necessary plan for evacuation, in addition, it did not effectively investigate the incident.

In connection with this case, the European Court of Human Rights found in 2008 that Article 2 of the Convention had been violated (This provision upholds the right to life, and prohibits the intentional deprivation of life, and is delimited by a list of exceptions; It also imposes a procedural obligation to carry out an effective investigation into alleged breaches of its substantive limb). 

The invited speaker, a lawyer at Partnership for Human Rights, Ana Tavkhelidze, shared details about the case and answered questions from the audience regarding the legal aspects of the tragedy that took place on August 3 in Shovi western Georgia resort (32 individuals were killed and over 200 people evacuated from the area), as well as the landslides and flooding in Guria region on September 8 (3 people have been found dead and the village of Silauri was completely destroyed).

Eleven discussion participants analyzed the cases and the decision of the ECtHR from a human rights perspective. The speaker emphasized that it is difficult to identify the persons responsible for the tragedy, which prevents the effective conduct of the investigation process.

The event's moderator, Tamar Pachulia, a student at the law school asked questions about what preventive measures could have been used before the landslide in Georgia, and whether the investigation was being conducted effectively after the tragedy by examining the details of the disaster that occurred in Guria.

"This decision made by the European Court of Human Rights dates back to 2008. However, if we draw a parallel with the situation in Georgia, we can clearly see that the state is still not prepared to handle such natural disasters," said Anna.