Fifteen staff members from various Georgian courts (Supreme Court of Georgia; Tbilisi Court  of Appeal; Tbilisi, Rustavi and Gori City Courts; Tetritskaro District Court) participated in a two-day training for Judicial Assistants and Court Secretaries in Borjomi on June 15-16, 2024.

The training, addressing procedural fairness and effective communication, was identified as a need through meetings of judges under the Program-supported Rule of Law Judicial practice groups.

Anna Chiabrishili, Legal Researcher for the USAID Rule of Law Program (Program), presented European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) case law on the appearance of impartiality as a fair trial guarantee, emphasizing the crucial role of court staff in achieving proper outcomes in such cases.

Eka Lomtatidze, the Program's Judicial Reform Adviser, covered important decisions of the Constitutional Court of Georgia regarding impartiality, as well as theories of legal interpretation and paradigms of legal analysis.

Dr. Tim Bunjevac, the Program’s Community Engagement Advisor, provided an international overview of civil case management and case-flow management, sharing examples from various jurisdictions to illustrate effective strategies.

The session concluded with a discussion of People-Centered Justice approaches and their impact on civil case management.