A new joint project of the Council of Europe and European Union - Application of the European Convention on Human Rights and harmonisation of national legislation and judicial practice in Georgia in line with European Standards –part of the Eastern Partnership Programmatic Co-operation Framework 2015-2017, was presented today to the public by the Council of Europe Office in Georgia.

The main objective of the project is to strengthen the criminal justice framework in line with European standards and enhance the capacity of legal professionals to apply it at national level. Overall, the project aims to achieve the enhancement of human rights protection in Georgia. The project involves the following partners: the Supreme Court, Tbilisi City Court, Regional Courts, High School of Justice, High Council of Justice, Ministry of Justice, Training Centre of Justice, Chief Prosecutor’s Office and Georgian Bar Association; the targeted audience includes judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and policy and decision makers.

Mr. Cristian Urse, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, Mr. Stephen Stork,Deputy Head of the Operations of the European Union Delegation to Georgia, Mr. Michael O’Boyle, Special Advisor to the Government of Georgia on Human Rights and Rule of Law and representative of the Directorate of Human Rights of the Council of Europe addressed the invited audience at the opening session.

“It has always been a top priority for the Council of Europe to help raise the professionalism and capacity of the institutions of our Member States and to support them in complying with European standards. Today we launch a specific effort aimed at capacity-building of legal professionals in Georgia.  Increased application of ECHR standards at national level would strengthen the criminal justice framework in the country and in the long run would contribute to the enhancement of human rights protection in Georgia” said the head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, Cristian Urse.

"This project is one of many common initiatives of the EU and the Council of Europe aimed at promoting human rights and justice in Georgia. We find that the Council of Europe's unique expertise and mandate in reviewing the application of the ECHR can contribute to further improvements in those areas in Georgia, and complement efficiently all other programmes run by EU, CoE and Georgia." – stated the deputy head of Operations of the European Union Delegation to Georgia, Stephen Stork.

Links to news on the launch of the project (in Georgian)

News 1	News 2
News 3	News 4

 

 

 

 

High-level representatives of the Supreme Court, Ministry of Justice, Chief Prosecutor’s Office, High Council of Justice, High School of Justice, Constitutional Court, Common Courts, Public Defender’s Office, Parliament of Georgia, Georgian Bar Association, and also leading non-governmental and international organisations working in the area of human rights attended the launching event.

This project is financed by the European Union and the Council of Europe (CoE) within the Programmatic Co-operation Framework (PCF) for Eastern Partnership countries and implemented by CoE, and is part of the CoE Action Plan for Georgia.