The first meeting of the Women’s Right Practice Group – consisting of civil and administrative law judges – was held with the support of the USAID Rule of Law Program. 

The meeting enabled over 20 event participants/group members to exchange their experiences on women’s rights cases, identify key issues faced by them in practice, and brainstorm how these issues can be resolved within the current legal framework.

“The main aim of the USAID support program is to provide support for you [the participants] to be more confident, skilled and strong in your daily activities. There are a lot of qualified professionals in the ranks of the judiciary; however, many of them are not so visible to the wider public. Therefore, one of the aims of the USAID Rule of Law Program is to make the work of judges such as yourselves more visible to the public. You are the driving force of this practice group; I would like to thank you for your interest in this initiative.“ – said Rusudan Tabatadze, Rule of Law Program Management Specialist at the Democracy and Governance Office of the USAID/Caucasus.

USAID Rule of Law Program Chief of Party Giorgi Chkheidze in his welcoming remarks emphasized the role of the judges in strengthening the rule of law in the country. He highlighted the Program’s goals over the next five years to enhance the judges’ expertise though facilitating an open dialogue and sharing of experiences among judges and other representatives of the legal profession on different themes, including women’s rights, children’s rights, etc.

USAID Rule of Law Program Access to Justice Advisor Eka Bokuchava presented the work done by the USAID/PROLoG about Women’s Rights (such as improving and strengthening the legislative space, access to justice, the raising of awareness about women’s rights, and the strengthening of professional skills).

The meeting’s agenda included the sharing of judges’ personal experiences in Women’s Right Cases, as well as brainstorming on the issues faced by judges when hearing such cases. 

The discussion sessions were moderated by the Judicial Reform Advisor of the USAID Rule of Law Program Inga Todria and Judicial Reform Specialist, USAID Rule of Law Program Eka Oniani, in coordination with the Group’s member judges Ketevan Berekashvili (Gori Regional Court), Guliko Kazhashvili (Batumi City Court), Tamar Oniani (Tbilisi Court of Appeals) and Nino Bakakuri (Supreme Court of Georgia). At the end of the meeting, the participants agreed upon the format and future plans and actions for the Working Group.