A workshop on civil proceedings was organised on 27 October in Tbilisi to enable judges and lawyers to have an open discussion and to facilitate common understanding of the issues that stem from judicial case law.

Two local judges, Ms Natia Gudjabidze and Ms Keti Meskhishvili provided a thorough review of legal practice and challenges. This platform enabled lawyers to ask direct questions to the individuals directly involved in the case-law formation and interpretation process. Lawyers received positive feedback from the judges on their professional development and on the progress that Georgian Bar Association has made over the 10 years of its existence. The attendees agreed on basic principles of fair, independent and transparent civil proceedings and suggested means of achieving these principles. The Council of Europe will continue to provide a common forum for judges, lawyers and other legal professionals to address relevant issues for further clarity.

This workshop took place under the coordinated support and work of the CoE Project “Strengthening the Independence and Efficiency of the Justice System in Georgia and the EU/CoE Joint Programmatic Cooperation Framework Project "Support to the Georgian Bar Association". The Council of Europe and European Union are working in partnership with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus to help them meet European standards in human rights, democracy and the rule of law and improve the lives of citizens.