On 25 November, the Project’s Steering Committee convened in Tbilisi for its second meeting. The objectives of the Steering Committee were to report on implementation progress since its last meeting in June and to present for consultations the Project’s work plan for 2016.

The Project team presented the progress on the Project’s activities, notably on legislative and institutional assessments, ethics and disciplinary procedures, lawyers continuous training and future lawyers internship, bench-bar relations, internal communication and reporting. In the second part of the meeting, the Project’s Plan of Actions for 2016 has been presented and discussed. All members of the Steering Committee shared the satisfaction with the Project's progress to-date and fully endorsed the activities planned for 2016.

The meeting was opened by Cristian Urse, Head of Council of Europe office in Georgia, who welcomed the participants and outlined the objectives of the meeting. Zaza Khatiashvili, the President of the Georgian Bar Association, thanked the Council of Europe and the EU for the support provided, which they appreciate as timely and effective. The meeting was attended by Peter Danis, EU Delegation to Georgia, Meliton Benidze, Director of the Legal Aid Service, Natia Odisharia, Ministry of Justice, Nona Kurdovanidze, Director of Legal Aid Center, GYLA.