The Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Georgian Bar Association, has provided support in organizing an international conference on ‘Freedom of Lawyers’ Profession and Institutional Guarantees’, where participants discussed current challenges faced by the lawyers’ profession and shared best European practices in tackling these challenges.
The conference took place in Tbilisi on 7 November, on the 10th anniversary of the Georgian Bar Association. The Bar Associations of Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Armenia participated in the meeting and they shared information on their associations’ backgrounds and the status quo.
The President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili and Chief Justice, Ms Nino Gvenetadze, also attended the conference and they emphasised the essential role of lawyers in enhancing the quality of justice. In her opening speech, Mrs Maria Slazak, President of The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), underlined the progress that the Georgian Bar Association has made throughout the years and expressed hope to witness less and less violations of lawyers’ rights.
Mr Cristian Urse, Head of Council of Europe Office in Georgia, further extended his respect and warm wishes to the Georgian Bar Association and confirmed the continue support of the Council of Europe for the profession of lawyers in Georgia. The opening remarks were followed by interesting exchange of ideas on the topics of illegal surveillance in law firms, institutional guarantees of legal practice and legal profession’s monopoly. Members of French, English and Belgium Bar Associations presented respective experiences on these topics.
The Programmatic Cooperation Framework project ‘Support to the Georgian Bar Association’ team had the honour to accept a certificate of gratitude from the Georgian Bar Association to attest and acknowledge Project’s achievements.
This conference took place under the coordinated support and work of the donors in the field of justice and the EU/CoE Joint 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.