Quarterly Report Year Four October 1, 2017 – December 31, 2017

PROMOTING RULE OF LAW IN GEORGIA (PROLoG)

CA # AID-114-A-15-00004

QUARTERLY REPORT YEAR FOUR OCTOBER 1, 2017 – DECEMBER 31, 2017

PROMOTING RULE OF LAW IN GEORGIA ACTIVITY (PROLoG) QUARTERLY REPORT YEAR FOUR OCTOBER 1, 2017 – DECEMBER 31, 2017

Prepared under the USAID’s Promoting Rule of Law in Georgia (PROLoG) Activity, Cooperative Agreement Number AID-114-A-15-00004

Submitted to: USAID/Georgia as of January 24, 2018

Implementer East-West Management Institute, Inc.

Responsible Parties: Giorgi Chkheidze, Chief of Party, Tbilisi, [email protected] Mark Dietrich, Project Director, Washington, D.C. [email protected]

Disclaimer This report is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of East-West Management Institute, Inc. and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government

2 TABLE OF ACRONYMS

ACCESS Advancing CSO Capacities and Engaging Society for Sustainability ADR Alternative Dispute Resolution CA Cooperative Agreement CEPEJ European Community for the Efficiency of Justice CIDA Civil Development Agency CRRC Caucasus Resource Research Center CLE Continuing Legal Education COE Council of Europe COP Chief of Party DCOP Deputy Chief of Party ECtHR European Court of Human Rights EHRAC European Human Rights Advocacy Centre EMC Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center EWMI East-West Management Institute Free-Uni Free University of Tbilisi GDI Georgian Democracy Imitative GBA Georgian Bar Association GIZ German Society for International Cooperation GTUC Georgian Trade Unions Confederation GYLA Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association HCOJ High Council of Justice HRC Human Rights Center HRCS Human Rights Center of the Supreme Court HSOJ High School of Justice JAG Judges Association of Georgia LAS Legal Aid Service L-N Lexis - Nexis M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MOJ Ministry of Justice NCCL National Center for Commercial Law NIHR Free Uni national Institute for Human Rights NGO Non-governmental Organization Coalition The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary PDO Office of the Public Defender PROLoG Promoting Rule of Law in Georgia TSU Tbilisi State University TDI Tolerance and Diversity Institute TOT Training of Trainers TI Transparency International - Georgia USAID United States Agency for International Development USG U.S. Government WUSL Washburn University School of Law

Executive Summary

Sub-Purpose 1: Strengthen Legal Framework

Judicial Reform

PROLoG engaged U.S. expert Judge Tim Baland and two local experts to assist the Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament to lead the process of judicial reform within the framework of the Parliamentary Judicial Reform Working group (PJR WG). PROLoG, in cooperation with EU4Justice, CoE and GIZ, also supported a meeting of the PJR WG to discuss draft legislative amendments to address the backlog of cases and improve the handling of certain cases, and to review materials gathered from multiple sources regarding grounds for establishing judicial misconduct. Judge Baland also assisted the Parliament in drafting internal regulations to define the selection and election of judges for the Supreme Court, non-judge members of the HCOJ, and non-judge members of the Disciplinary Committee, and to establish a vetting system for these candidates.

With PROLoG U.S. expert Kellie Early’s technical assistance, the High Council of Justice (HCOJ) adopted a new regulation on qualification exams for judges. The regulation combined new rules on exam organization, exam procedures, the exam items expert commission, and question development. PROLoG also contracted the National Assessment and Examinations Center to conduct a one-month training for the judicial exam test writers selected by the HCOJ.

PROLoG engaged international expert Jesper Wittrup to assess the feasibility of conducting a full report on assessing the distribution and allocation of judicial resources in Georgia, with a recommended methodology for completing such a report. PROLoG also engaged international expert Ales Zalar to assess the current rules and regulations on the promotion of judges and provide recommendations for creating a merit- and integrity-based system.

Human Rights Legislation and Policy Development

During the reporting period, PROLoG undertook activities to support the drafting of the Action Plan on Protection of Human Rights for 2018-2020. PROLoG international expert Maggie Nicholson was asked to review chapters of the draft Action Plan against the National Human Rights Strategy 2014-2020, international standards and best practices, and in light of recommendations she had previously made in the UNDP and PROLoG-supported “Report on Progress in the Implementation of the National Strategy for the Protection of Human Rights in Georgia.” The expert provided general recommendations relevant for the entire Action Plan, as well as suggestions for certain specific chapters. In addition to the expert review, PROLoG together with UNDP supported thematic discussions of the draft Action Plan with the main state and non-state stakeholders, organized by the Human Rights Secretariat.

PROLoG supported the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee of the Parliament to mark Human Rights Day. For this purpose, PROLoG assisted the Committee to prepare leaflets with information on human rights based on the recent amendments to the Georgian Constitution. The leaflets were distributed at the opening of Human Rights Week. In addition to Georgian, the leaflets were printed in Armenian and Azerbaijani so that minorities are also informed of their rights.

During this quarter, PROLoG continued its support for CSO activities aimed at reforming the legal framework and addressing pressing challenges to ensure the effective observance of due process guarantees. Following its advocacy strategy aimed at reforming the Code of

Administrative Offenses, GYLA filed an additional Constitutional complaint to challenge the article prohibiting inscriptions, slogans, banners and drawings at places not allocated for this purpose. In addition, GYLA prepared an animation, infographic and poster to show the deficiencies of Code and sensitize the public. The animation was posted on Facebook at the end of December, and it has already 10,000 views and 70 shares. ALFG finalized its policy paper on equality of arms, which focuses on equal access to and use of evidence. As planned, ALFG also prepared the first draft of a legislative package of reforms, which was reviewed by U.S. expert Judge Richard Gebelein. The package was shared with the main stakeholders and meetings were organized to discuss it with NGOs, judges, and defense lawyers from the Legal Aid Service.

During the previous quarters, at the request of Parliament’s Gender Equality Council, PROLoG together with UNDP decided to support the first comprehensive study on the fulfillment of Georgia’s international recommendations in the area of gender equality and women’s rights. Work on the study by international and local experts continued during the reporting period, and a number of activities were undertaken. On October 24, the preliminary findings of the study were presented by the local experts at a meeting of the Gender Equality Council. The study was very well received by both state and non-state actors. On November 16-17, in cooperation with UNDP and the Gender Equality Council’s Secretariat, thematic consultation meetings were conducted to ensure in-depth discussion of the findings prior to finalizing the study. In early December, PROLoG’s U.S. expert Lori Mann visited Georgia and met with the main stakeholders. The aim of the visit was to share the main recommendations and to assist the Secretariat with updating the State Concept on Gender Equality.

Civil Society Engagement in Judicial Reform and Legislative Development Process

PROLoG continued its support for the Coalition’s advocacy activities aimed at the reform of the justice system. The highlights of the quarter were the Coalition’s meetings with the Parliament Legal Committee Chair and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to discuss CSOs’ involvement in the Fourth Wave Judicial Reform process, critical statements concerning violations committed by representatives of law enforcement agencies, and the work to develop a communication strategy and a public campaign action plan.

The Coalition members were pushing for getting a seat at the Fourth Wave Judicial Reform discussion table. They held meetings with Chief Justice Nino Gvenetadze and the Parliament’s Legal Committee Chair Eka Beselia to raise this issue and also discuss recommendations for legislative changes based on the Coalition study The Judicial System: Past Reforms and Future Perspectives. The December 16 meeting with Eka Beselia was fruitful. She agreed to involve a Coalition representative in the Judicial Reform Working Group. Ms. Beselia also promised to share the legislative draft that aims to reduce the caseload in Georgian courts and the concept for reforming the disciplinary liability system. Coalition members also worked on the Coalition’s communication strategy. With the involvement of a public relations consultant, they discussed the vision, mission, goals and objectives of the Coalition’s communication strategy, as well as messages for specific target groups and public campaign activities. The discussion will continue in the next quarter and will result in a communication strategy and action plan.

Commercial Law Reform

PROLoG, together with GIZ, continued supporting the MoJ working group on the Law on Entrepreneurs (LoE). The ISET Policy Institute, contracted by PROLoG and GIZ, conducted

5 a regulatory impact assessment (RIA) to evaluate the impact of the draft LoE. The RIA was finalized and presented to the MoJ in October 2017. It is expected that the MoJ will organize a presentation of the new LoE and the RIA results in the near future.

Sub-Purpose 2: Improve Management of Justice System Institutions

Legal Aid Service

PROLoG assistance to the state Legal Aid Service focused on support to adopt amendments to the Law on the Legal Aid Service that will introduce staggered terms for the new LAS Board members and will limit the expansion of the mandate in civil and administrative law.

PROLoG also continued strengthening the Association of Law Firms of Georgia (ALFG), issuing a grant to work in areas such as lawyers’ training needs, developing guidelines on how to organize a legal firm, and needed ethical standards. ALFG conducted two meetings of the working group to draft a concept paper and conducted one lunch meeting on construction law.

Sub-Purpose 3: Enhance Capacity of Legal Professionals

During the reporting period PROLoG supported professional skills training at the university level through the following activities: a) publication of an Academic Writing Manual; b) development of a Ph.D. teaching methodology course; c) development of a model “Introduction to Law” course; d) development of a “Client Counseling for Lawyers” course; e) delivery of a training on Regulatory Impact Assessment; f) delivery of National Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution mediation awareness raising workshops; and g) three moot court competitions on human rights and other topics.

During the reporting period PROLoG supported human rights and gender scholarship through the National Institute for Human Rights (NIHR) at Free University Tbilisi and through the Ilia University Human Rights Chair’s public events and research papers. PROLoG supported a high level human rights conference through NIHR and the “Annual Human Rights Week.” With PROLoG’s support, GBA’s delivered five Continuing Legal Education human rights and skill-based courses to its members.

The GBA submitted part of the amendments to the Law on Advocates to the Parliament, but the amendments are still pending. Bar Examinations were held successfully in December 2017, and the pass rate increased from 24% to 28%.

Through its PROLoG grant, GBA conducted pilot training courses for interns during October-December 2017. The number of participants in the professional legal clinics has significantly increased, with 24 students from five different universities participating in the Fall 2017 clinical program, compared to four students at the beginning of program.

PROLoG, in cooperation with the High School of Justice (HSoJ) and GIZ, organized three trainings on “Corporate Law and Governance in Georgia and the EU” for 21 judges from various courts in Georgia. The purpose of the trainings, led by five judge-trainers, was to pilot the course on corporate law that was developed with the support of experts retained by PROLoG and GIZ. A comprehensive Course Reader, initially developed by the trainers in English and then translated into Georgian, was edited by PROLoG expert Lasha Tsertsvadze. Georgian judges now have the first course reader of its kind in Georgian, which will enable them to answer complex company law-related issues. The course on EU-Georgia Company

Law will be part of the HSOJ curriculum, and is being taught to both judges and court staff by the judge-trainers who participated in the pilot trainings.

Sub-Purpose 4: Improve Access to Justice of Marginalized Groups

On November 17, under its awareness raising grant “Promoting Diversity Enhancing Dialogue and Empowering Minorities and Women,” Tolerance and Diversity Institute (TDI) organized a presentation of the project and launched the multimedia platform Images of Diversity. The project raises public awareness of the discrimination problems faced by religious and ethnic minorities and foreigners residing in Georgia, and empowers representatives of minority groups. The multimedia platform tells stories about religious and ethnic diversity in Georgia, introduces interesting people from different backgrounds, and offers a journey to various regions of Georgia.

On November 28-30, as part of its mentorship program for legal aid lawyers, the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC) conducted a three-day training for NGO legal aid lawyers to strengthen their capacity to litigate strategically important cases at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

During the reporting period PROLoG’s legal aid partners provided 3151 legal consultations and representations in 309 court cases.

In a strategic case brought by GYLA, the Tbilisi Appellate Court upheld the decision of the first instance court and imposed on the Ministry of Internal Affairs an obligation to pay 12,500 GEL in compensation for the damages inflicted during the demonstration against homophobia and transphobia on May 17, 2013. The court found the Ministry’s work ineffective during the demonstration.

EMC successfully finalized a case related to the discriminatory refusal to allow the construction of a Catholic Church in Rustavi. Since April 2013, the Apostolic Administration of the Latin Catholics (hereinafter the “Catholic Church”) has tried to obtain a permit for the construction of a Catholic Church on land registered to it in Rustavi Municipality. EMC argued that the delay in issuing the permit was due to discriminatory treatment by the City Hall. After the court’s decision in favor of the Catholic Church, construction of the church was started.

TDI successfully completed a strategically important case on behalf of the religious organization LEPL Savior's Bible Church. The appellate court held unlawful the limitation on construction permits for houses of worship by religious organizations, and clarified that recommendations for issuance of a construction permit from the State Agency for Religious Issues must not be a precondition for issuing permits as the law does not require it.

PROLoG, together with the Centers for Civic Engagement and Human Rights Secretariat, conducted four regional visits in Kutaisi, Gori, Batumi and Rustavi to support dissemination in the regions of information on the ongoing and planned reforms promoting human rights protection in Georgia. A total of 182 persons participated in the meetings. On December 7, a presentation on the results of the “Improving Information Flow on Human Rights’ Issues between the Center and the Regions” project was held.

SUB-PURPOSE 1: STRENGTHEN LEGAL FRAMWORK

A. Significant Results, Accomplishments, Activities

Judicial Reform

Legislative Amendments

During the reporting quarter, the Parliamentary Judicial Reform Working Group (PJR WG) led by the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament conducted two meetings to discuss judicial reform related matters (development of the Fourth Wave of Judicial Reforms). PROLoG believes it is critically important to provide consistent assistance to the PJR WG since its mandate is to analyze the judicial legal framework and prepare judicial reform-related draft amendments. This activity is part of PROLoG’s continued assistance to the Georgian justice system. This quarter, PROLoG provided further technical assistance to the process of developing judicial reform drafts, hiring U.S. and local experts with knowledge and experience drafting judicial reform legislation: U.S. Judge Tim Baland, Eka Popkhadze and Elene Sichinava. On October 2, a PJR WG meeting was held at Tbilisi City Court, a follow- up to two working group meetings that took place during the summer in Kobuleti. The meeting was opened by Eka Beselia, Chair of Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, and Laura Berger, USAID’s Acting Director of the Office of Democracy, Governance and Social Development. The meeting discussed the process of implementing the “Third Wave” judicial reform amendments and the activities carried out by the HCOJ since the Third Wave was adopted; grounds for judicial discipline and challenges in disciplinary proceedings; draft legislative amendments to reduce judicial workload; case flow in civil proceedings; and improvement of the HCOJ’s rules of operation. Special interest was paid to the discussion by Minister of Justice Thea Tsulukiani on the concept the for creation of Commercial Chambers to handle complex commercial disputes, and the comments by HCOJ Secretary Giorgi Mikautadze and Chair of Tbilisi Appellate Court Mikheil Chinchaladze on possible ways to implement this initiative and the difficulties and risks the judiciary may face.

On December 3-4, PROLoG, in cooperation with EU4Justice, CoE and GIZ, supported a meeting of the PJR WG in Borjomi to discuss the draft legislative amendments to address the backlog of cases and to improve efficiency in the handling of certain cases at the court, as well as to review materials gathered from multiple sources regarding grounds for establishing judicial misconduct. It was fourth meeting of PJR WG. High ranking officials from all three branches of the Government, and representatives of USAID, the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. Department of Justice, CoE, EU and GIZ attended the meeting. Irakli Kobakhidze, the Speaker of the Parliament, Nino Gvenetadze, Chief Justice and HCOJ Chair, Giorgi Mikautadze, Secretary of the HCOJ, Aleksandre Baramidze, First Deputy Minister of Justice, Laura Berger, USAID’s Acting Director of the Office of Democracy, Governance and Social Development, Peter Danis, Programme Manager at EU Delegation in Georgia, and Christian Urse, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, addressed the meeting with opening remarks.

Judge Baland participated in the PJR WG’s working meeting in Borjomi. Initially it was anticipated that the HCOJ’s rules of procedure would be discussed at the meeting. Judge Baland developed draft amendments to the Organic Law on Common Courts on the operation and decision-making-making responsibilities of the HCOJ, which were shared with Legal Affairs Committee prior to the meeting, but this subject was not included on the meeting’s agenda. During the two-day meeting, the PJR WG discussed a package of draft legislative amendments that address the heavy caseload of courts and grounds for disciplinary liability 8 of judges. The first day of the workshop focused on draft legislative amendments to address the backlog of cases and to improve efficiency in the handling of certain cases at both the first instance and appellate court levels. The legislative amendments to the Organic Law on Common Courts and the Code of Civil Procedure introduce magistrate civil servants (hereinafter “magistrates”) acting as courts of first instance with the judicial function of litigating and making decisions on less complex disputes. According to Eka Popkhadze, PROLoG’s local expert, these amendments raise concerns about the consistency of the magistrate system with the Georgian Constitution and the concept of a competent, independent and impartial tribunal, as defined by Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 6.1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Judge Baland shared with the participants the U.S. concept of magistrate judges and its features. The second day involved a review of materials gathered from multiple sources regarding the grounds for establishing judicial misconduct. Both sessions were led by Eka Beselia, Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee. Judge Baland shared his knowledge and made recommendations on issues that were considered during the workshop based on American laws, rules and best practices. It is anticipated that a further meeting of the working group will likely be held once the draft laws are ready for review.

PROLoG Supported Parliament to Reform the Process of Selecting Judicial Officials

Upon a request from Vice-Chair of the Parliament Tamar Chugoshvili, Judge Baland assisted the administration of the Parliament in drafting internal regulations guiding Parliament’s selection and election of judges for the Supreme Court, non-judge members of the HCOJ, and non-judge members of the Disciplinary Committee, and establishing a vetting system for these candidates. Judge Baland reviewed the internal rules of the Georgian Parliament, international legal frameworks and best practices, and prepared draft regulations with the overall goal of enhancing the transparency, fairness and objectivity of the process. PROLoG shared these recommendations with the Vice-Chair of the Parliament.

Rules of Operation of the HCOJ

Acknowledging the importance of having in the law a clear set of procedures governing the operation of the HCOJ, and upon a request from the Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, Judge Baland prepared proposed amendments to the Organic Law on Common Courts that set up detailed rules of operation of the HCOJ. The expert’s recommendations were shared with Chair of Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, and PROLoG will follow up next quarter.

Improving Judicial Promotion

The HCOJ approached PROLoG with a request for technical assistance to assess the current rules and regulations on the promotion of judges and provide recommendations for creating a merit and integrity-based system. PROLoG engaged Ales Zalar, an international expert with special expertise in judicial promotion mechanisms, relevant international and European standards, and policies applicable to the process, to assess the current rules and regulations on the promotion of judges and provide written recommendations for creating a merit and integrity-based system. PROLoG submitted the recommendations to the HCOJ, and will follow up next quarter.

Judicial Discipline and Accountability

The HCOJ appointed Ketevan Tsintsadze, former clerk of the Supreme Court, to the position of Independent Inspector on November 20. The Independent Inspector possesses the authority to receive, review, and investigate complaints against judges, and to prepare and submit reports to the HCOJ. PROLoG was requested by the Independent Inspector to assist in developing internal processes for reviewing and investigating complaints, and for drafting reasoned reports for the HCOJ. PROLoG is in the process of engaging U.S. expert Victoria Henley, former Director-Chief Counsel at the California Commission on Judicial Performance, to assist.

Management Assistance to the HCOJ

Improving Qualification Examination

With PROLoG’s technical assistance, the HCOJ adopted a new regulation on the qualification exam for judges. The regulation combined new rules on exam organization, exam commission, the exam items development experts commission, and question development. The new rules are largely based on PROLoG U.S. expert Kelly Early’s written recommendations. Under the new rules, the HCOJ identifies 30 experts in various legal areas to draft test items and essay questions, review exam items, edit them, and check their validity. In the reporting quarter, PROLoG contracted the National Assessment and Examinations Center (NAEC), a national organization with outstanding expertise in test development and teaching as well as unique experience conducting large scale examinations and test administration in Georgia, to conduct a one-month training for the judicial exam test writers selected by the HCOJ. Modern approaches to item writing methodology, content validation and test construction, and development of a grading scheme will be taught to the 30 test writers through discussions, individual and group exercises and meetings. The training program started in December and will end in January 2018.

Feasibility Study to Define the Proper Number of Courts, Judges and Staff

To facilitate the efficient functioning of the court system and improve the quality of justice, PROLoG engaged international expert Jesper Wittrup to assess the feasibility of conducting a full study on assessing the distribution and allocation of judicial resources in Georgia, with a recommended methodology for completing such a report. The expert reviewed the current distribution of courts, judges and court staff in Georgia, and the method for allocating such resources. The expert also reviewed current methods for measuring the work of judges and court staff, any available court performance data, and related budgeting data. The expert traveled to Georgia and met with the HCOJ and other judicial leaders to advise them concerning the best existing models/techniques for assessing the allocation of courts, judges and court staff based on needs. Based on these discussions, and a review of current data and how it is collected and used, the expert developed preliminary recommendations for conducting a full study. PROLoG submitted the expert’s written report with findings and recommendations for how to complete a full assessment of the allocation of court resources to the HCOJ. PROLoG will follow up with this study next quarter.

Audit of Information Technology Infrastructure and Software Asset Management

As a result of the “Third Wave” judicial reform, all decisions of Georgian courts since March 2017 must be published. The best way to publish decisions, in terms of efficiency as well as to improve access, is to develop a searchable e-database. However, in the process of planning

10 joint activities to develop such database, PROLoG and other donor organizations (EU4Justice, GIZ and CoE) found that the current infrastructure and resources may not be able to support such a database and that more effort must be made to assess the current situation. In this regard, the partnering donor organizations have suggested to the HCOJ Chair and HCOJ Secretary that a comprehensive IT Audit be performed. This will enable the Georgian judiciary, as well as the Government and wider donor community, to see the weaknesses and opportunities for the judiciary’s IT infrastructure, software and network, and to plan how to effectively invest in new e-justice tools, including creation of the searchable legal database. The Chair and the Secretary of the HCOJ have both approved this approach, and a call for applications will be jointly announced by the partner donor organizations next quarter. The consultancy shall cover at least: (1) an audit of the IT infrastructure and its security; (2) an audit of the case management software and its ability to be upgraded or modified, compliance with standards and legislations; (3) an audit of IT business processes, including human resources; and (4) an audit of network management, security and compliance with best standards and practices.

Support to the “Unity of Judges of Georgia”

During the reporting period, Unity of Judges completed its tasks under the grant extension awarded in Spring 2017. Unity’s obligations under the grant included studying and analyzing the legal framework and implementation of the new rules of judicial appointment under the “Third Wave” of legislative reform. In addition, because significant changes in the appointment process were introduced following the Constitutional Court decision on the appointments procedures for judges with more than three years of judgeship experience, Unity also analyzed the regulations governing admission to the HSOJ, as well as the rules for selection and appointment of judges for probation and lifetime appointments, and the rules of evaluation and appointment of judges on probation for lifetime appointments. The presentation of Unity’s “Study of the Procedures for Appointment of District (City) and Appellate Court Judges and Related Problems in the Light of Georgian Legislation” took place on October 25, with Maia Bakradze and Besik Sisvadze – who are both Unity’s experts and its Board members – presenting the study. Unity also continued advocating for the draft HCOJ regulations it developed in 2016-2017. For this purpose they met members of Parliament, as well as the Chair of the Parliament’s Legal Committee, Eka Beselia.

Extension of the grant was not requested by Unity since the association faces organizational difficulties as its membership was significantly reduced recently as a result of the critical opinions of the HCOJ distributed by Unity.

Human Rights Legislation and Policy Development

Support for the Human Rights Council and Effective Implementation of the Human Rights Strategy and Action Plan

PROLoG undertook activities to support the drafting of the Action Plan on Protection of Human Rights for 2018-2020. PROLoG’s international expert Maggie Nicholson was asked to review chapters of the draft Action Plan against the National Human Rights Strategy 2014- 2020, international standards and best practices, and in light of recommendations made by her in the UNDP and PROLoG-supported “Report on Progress in the Implementation of the National Strategy for the Protection of Human Rights in Georgia.” The expert provided general recommendations relevant for the entire Action Plan, including suggesting more attention on monitoring the implementation of laws and policies, making clear references to international obligations and recommendations, improving indicators and reformulation of

11 aims and objectives, specifying timing, and developing a budget. She also reviewed the specific chapters on criminal justice, right to fair trial and free access to justice, human rights and law enforcement system, rights of prisoners and former prisoners, right against torture and ill-treatment, rights of national/ethnic minorities, and rights of religious minorities. The expert could not review the gender equality and women’s empowerment chapters as they were not ready at the time. The expert advised on how to address the issues identified as challenging during the interim assessment of the Human Rights Strategy and how to bring the chapters in line with the Human Rights Strategy. In addition to the expert’s review, PROLoG together with UNDP supported thematic discussions on the draft Action Plan with the main state and non-state stakeholders, organized by the Human Rights Secretariat. The first round of consultation meetings took place in Tbilisi during the week of December 18, and the second meetings took place on December 26-27 in Borjomi. Ms. Nicholson’s opinion was shared with the stakeholders at both meetings and was also distributed electronically.

During this quarter, the grantees monitoring the Human Rights Action Plan implementation focused on two main directions. The first focus was monitoring the Action Plan by requesting information from and organizing working meetings with community organizations and state institutions, and developing alternative indicators and a structure for the draft report. According to the project schedule the first draft of an interim report should have been submitted by mid-November, but some grantees could not obtain the information requested from their respective agencies. As a result, it was decided to waive the interim report and have the grantees instead submit a draft final report in January 2018. The grantees’ second focus was involvement in the development of the Human Rights Action Plan for 2018-2020, sharing written comments regarding the draft Action Plan and participating in the working meetings. Meetings with community organizations on women’s rights and the rights of people with disabilities were conducted to assess the implementation of the Action Plan and to see how the draft Action Plan reflects actual needs. The web page www.hrm.org.ge, which will enable the public both to track the government’s progress in implementing the Human Rights Action Plan and to see the findings of the monitoring effort in an engaging visual format, has been finalized and is being tested.

PROLoG, also supported the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee of the Parliament to mark Human Rights Day, assisting the Committee to prepare leaflets with information on human rights according to the latest amendments to the Georgian Constitution. The leaflets were distributed at the opening of Human Rights Week. The leaflets were printed in Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani so that minorities are also informed of their rights.

PROLoG was approached by Grigol Robakidze University asking permission to publish PROLoG international expert Sir Jeffrey Jowell’s opinion on the draft constitutional changes in relation to human rights and judiciary. Sir Jowell’s opinion was prepared as part of PROLoG’s support to the Constitution Reform Commission in Spring 2017. In December, the article “Legal, Political and Economic Aspects of the Constitutional Reform Process” was published in a special edition of the “Academic Matsne,” expanding the audience for the opinion.

Due Process Rights

PROLoG continued its support for CSO activities aimed at reforming the legal framework and addressing pressing challenges to ensure the effective observance of due process guarantees. Following its advocacy strategy aimed at reforming the Code of Administrative Offenses, GYLA filed an additional complaint with the Constitutional Court, this time

12 challenging the article prohibiting inscriptions, slogans, banners and drawings at places not allocated for this purpose. In addition, an animation, infographic and poster were prepared to show the deficiencies of existing Code and sensitize the public. The animation was posted on Facebook at the end of December and it already has 10,000 views and 70 shares.

ALFG finalized its policy paper on equality of arms, which focuses on equal access to and use of evidence. As planned, ALFG also prepared the first draft of a package of legislative reforms, which was reviewed U.S. expert Judge Richard Gebelein. The package was shared with the main stakeholders and meetings were organized to discuss the draft amendments with NGOs, judges and defense lawyers from the Legal Aid Service.

Anti-Discrimination

Support for development of anti-discrimination legislation and practice to ensure that basic international and regional human rights standards are observed in the Georgian legal system is one of the priority directions for PROLoG. PROLoG, together with the PDO’s Equality Department and EU Project on Combating All Forms of Discrimination in Georgia, started preparatory work for an analytical report on the anti-discrimination cases adjudicated by Georgia’s courts during the last three years. The scope of work for the local expert has been drafted and the PDO has filed requests for all the materials necessary for the analysis. The call for a local expert will be published once all the materials are collected. The aim of the analysis is to make it possible to exchange information regarding the application of legislation and established practices among legal professionals, judges and the PDO’s Equality Department. The analysis will allow practicing lawyers to identify the gaps in the case law of the national courts and determine legal solutions for the problematic issues. It will also assist judges to modify their practice so that it conforms to international standards.

Gender Equality

PROLoG continued directing its efforts to strengthen gender equality and the regulatory framework governing women’s rights by supporting the Parliament’s Gender Equality Council (Council). At the request of the Council, during the previous quarters it was decided to support, together with UNDP, the first comprehensive study on the fulfillment of Georgia’s international recommendations in the area of gender equality and women’s rights. The work on the study by U.S. expert Lori Mann and local experts continued in the reporting period and a number of activities were undertaken.

On October 24, the preliminary findings of the study were presented by the local experts at a meeting of Parliament’s Gender Equality Council. The study was very well received by both state and non-state actors. Tamar Chugoshvili, First Deputy Chairperson of Parliament, stated at the meeting: “The study covers almost every aspect of gender equality. Accordingly, this study will be a baseline for the national strategy and action plans of Gender Equality Council for the coming years.” On November 16-17, in cooperation with UNDP and Council’s Secretariat, thematic consultation meetings were conducted to ensure an in-depth discussion of the study before it was finalized. In early December, U.S. expert Lori Mann visited Georgia and met with MPs from the ruling and opposition parties, as well as representatives from the executive branch, Public Defender’s Office, Inter-Agency Commission on Gender Equality, Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, and NGOs. The aim of the visit was to share the report’s main recommendations and to assist the Council’s Secretariat with updating the State Concept on Gender Equality. For the latter purpose, a working meeting with the Council’s Secretariat and Ms. Mann was organized at which the initial draft of the State Concept was reviewed and Ms. Mann provided advice. With this meeting a State

Concept drafting process was launched. The presentation of the baseline study is planned for January.

Civil Society Engagement in Legislative Development Process

Advocacy to Improve Judicial System

The highlights of this quarter were the Coalition’s meetings with the Parliament Legal Committee Chair and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to discuss CSOs’ involvement in the “Fourth Wave” judicial reform process, critical statements concerning violations committed by representatives of law enforcement agencies, and development of a Coalition communication strategy and a public campaign action plan.

During this quarter, Coalition members pushed for a seat at the “Fourth Wave” judicial reform discussion table. They held meetings with Nino Gvenetadze, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and Eka Beselia, the Parliament Legal Committee Chair, to raise this issue and to discuss recommendations for legislative changes based on the Coalition study The Judicial System: Past Reforms and Future Perspectives. The December 16 meeting with Eka Beselia was fruitful, and she agreed to involve a Coalition representative in the Judicial Reform Working Group. Ms. Beselia also promised to share a legislative draft that aims to reduce the caseload in Georgian courts as well the concept for reforming the disciplinary liability system.

The Coalition also issued five public statements, three of which were dedicated to violations committed by representatives of law enforcement agencies. The statements call for the introduction of an Independent Investigative Mechanism and request that Parliament immediately start hearings on Independent Investigative Mechanism-related legislation. The December 27 statement said that “this will be an effective mean for punishing the policemen who have committed crimes and will simultaneously help raise trust towards all the law enforcement officers who duly fulfill their obligations.” The Coalition also reacted to the judicial interviews and appointments at the High Council of Justice (HCOJ). The October 20 statement pointed out several flaws in the lifetime judicial appointments, mainly related to the uneven treatment of candidates. The Coalition criticized the HCOJ for asking candidates questions of varying complexity and other demonstrations of bias during candidate interviews. The Coalition also criticized the process of selecting the Independent Inspector, a position introduced as part the “Third Wave” of legal reform to improve the judicial disciplinary liability system. According to the November 20 statement the process lacked transparency; candidate bios were not published and interviews were closed for observers. The statement asserts that “full closure of the selection process raises questions with respect to the Council’s dubious interests in the competition outcomes and may undermine public trust in the selected candidate.” The statement also reiterated the Coalition’s criticism of the legal changes that introduced the Inspector position, arguing it creates an institution fully dependent on the HCOJ.

During the quarter the Coalition members held several brainstorming sessions to develop its communication strategy and action plan. Transparency International Georgia hired a public relations consultant to facilitate this process. At the December 22 meeting, the Coalition members discussed the vision, mission, goals and objectives of the Coalition communication strategy. The Coalition’s vision is that it should be perceived as a competent and reliable union of organizations working to improve the justice system. The Coalition's communication mission is to provide information on the problems of the court system, to advocate for changes, to promote civic activism, and to set a judiciary-related agenda for

14 public discourse. Its strategic goals are to increase public awareness of and trust towards the Coalition, and to provide informational support for the Coalition's work including advocacy for judicial reforms, monitoring the HCOJ, and communicating with different target groups.

It was decided to maintain the title “Justice Demands” for the Coalition’s advocacy campaign to improve the court system, dismantle “the elite clan” in the judiciary, impose responsibility on politicians, and empower individual judges. The Coalition members also discussed the messages for different target groups and specific activities, such as: formally submitting legislative initiatives to the Parliament, organizing a public forum on the issues included in its legislative initiatives, publicizing individual problematic cases, organizing presentations on studies carried out by the members of the Coalition, meeting with business associations, other coalitions and regional NGOs, and developing infographics on how the problems of the court system affect businesses.

Coalition Working Group Grant Projects

The PROLoG team, together with external experts, reviewed eight grant proposals submitted by Coalition members. The applications included proposals related to the problems of the HSOJ, case assignment, administrative violations, preventive measures, and access to justice for women and children. PROLoG convened Grant Review Committee (GRC) meetings to discuss the applications and worked closely with the shortlisted applicants to address the GRC’s recommendations. Three proposals were shortlisted and sent to USAID for review and approval; one project on monitoring the case assignment system has been approved so far.

PROLoG also continued to monitor a project by the Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) on “Reforming the Criminal Investigation for Creating a Fair and Effective Criminal Justice System,” which was awarded through the working group grant mechanism. The project will investigate and evaluate the relationship between investigators and prosecutors in legislation and practice to improve the investigatory system so that it is focused on human rights and is institutionally and procedurally effective. EMC developed a detailed approach to research, and engaged a local expert to develop interview guides/questionnaires for interviewing prosecutors, judges, lawyers and academia. During the reporting period EMC finalized its analysis of the relevant legislation, collected relevant public information, held interviews with investigators from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and Ministry of Finance, as well as prosecutors. EMC also obtained consent from the Supreme Court to conduct interviews with judges and, barring any backtracking from the judges, the interviews will be conducted in January 2018. EMC also engaged with the Coalition’s criminal justice working group to inform them of its findings thus far, and is confident that the Coalition will be engaged in advocacy of EMC’s recommendations given the issue’s natural connection with the Coalition’s ongoing advocacy for the creation of an independent investigative mechanism. Richard Vogler, the British expert whose involvement in this project is supported by OSGF, has already finalized his analysis of the investigative systems of the U.S. and UK. Further guidance from him may be sought during the report writing process next reporting period.

The first draft of the final report was already shared with PROLoG, as well as the Table of Contents for the finished product. Once the writing is finalized, EMC will discuss its findings and recommendations with the Coalition, as well as share the report with the relevant state institutions for their comments. EMC will then hold public roundtable discussions, as well as individual discussion with MIA, MoJ and the Prosecutor’s Office to advocate for its recommendations.

Support to GYLA and TI Advocacy Efforts

During the quarter TI, as Chair of the Coalition, led most of the Coalition’s activities. TI also submitted the draft of its study of corruption risks in the court system. The study explores the regulatory framework and practice by considering legislative gaps that create a risk of corruption, and also looks into specific cases in which corruption-related allegations were made. Currently, PROLoG is working on comments and suggestions for improving and finalizing the report, which will be published next quarter.

GYLA, together with other civil society organizations, advocated against restricting access to public information. They participated in Parliamentary hearings and also published a statement that criticized the MOJ’s initiative to amend the newly adopted Constitution in order to broaden the grounds for restricting access to public information. This advocacy was successful because the grounds for restriction were defined narrowly and the public interest test was preserved.

Commercial Law Reform

PROLoG, together with GIZ and the EU-funded project “Support to the Development of Private and Administrative Law Systems in Georgia,” supported the MoJ working group on company law reform. As part of that support, PROLoG and GIZ supported the interagency Private Law Reform Council within MoJ to finalize the Law on Entrepreneurs (LoE) and provide the draft law to MoJ. PROLoG and GIZ then contracted the ISET Policy Institute to conduct a RIA to evaluate the impact of the draft LoE.

The RIA was finalized and presented to the MoJ in October 2017. Presentation of the RIA results is expected to be held during the next reporting period, after MoJ receives feedback from the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development and the Ministry of Finance concerning the RIA findings and the three options presented in the RIA.

The authors of the LoE, together with the involvement of MoJ representatives, also held several meetings to finalize the draft law and reflect the comments made by the Investors Council, MoJ, National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR) and Felix Steffek, a German expert retained by GIZ. The LoE authors also developed an Explanatory Note on the LoE and draft amendments to the Administrative Offences Code and the Civil Procedure Code, as these laws will be affected by the new LoE. Amendments to the Law of Georgia on the Public Registry will be drafted and presented by the NAPR, and those amendments should also become a part of the package that will be submitted to the MoJ for review. It is expected that the MoJ will present the draft LoE and other draft amendments to the government in the near future.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E) Results

Sub-Purpose 1: Legal Framework Strengthened No quarterly reporting required under indicators

B. Key Issues and Challenges

The highly powerful judicial leadership with guaranteed life-terms has been opposing the comprehensive legislative reforms discussed within the PJR working group and hinders the adoption of positive changes in the next stage of judicial reform (most notably, the rules of

16 operation of the HCOJ). PROLoG, in coordination with USAID and other donors, will maintain active engagement with the HCOJ on these issues.

With regard to reform of the Code of Administrative Offenses, the political will to reform the Code is still lacking. However, GYLA intensified its work to sensitize the public about the need for reform of the Code, and in the coming months this effort will be combined with bilateral meetings and joint work with the Coalition and possibly the PDO.

There has been no progress in relation to the Human Rights Inter-Agency Council and the working groups. PROLoG, in coordination with USAID and its partners (UNDP, EU) decided to put pressure on the Georgian Government by raising the issue at their respective high level meetings. The PROLoG grantees monitoring the implementation of the Human Rights Action Plan do not always receive the information they request from different state institutions. For this reason, at the grantees’ request, it was decided to cancel the submission of the grantees’ interim monitoring report. The time has been used to obtain the needed information from other sources.

TI’s report on corruption risks in the court system contains highly sensitive information, publication of which may have repercussions for the relationship between PROLoG and its counterparts in the Government and the court system. To avoid a backlash, PROLoG advised TI to seek an internationally acknowledged independent expert’s opinion on the report and publish it only after considering his/her recommendations.

C. Plans for next quarter

The following activities are expected to take place during the next reporting period: • Bring judicial discipline expert Victoria Henley to provide technical assistance to the Independent Inspector to develop rules of operation, guidelines, and forms necessary for the office of Independent Inspector to operate and conduct a two-day training for the Independent Inspector staff; • Support a workshop of the PJR WG; • Support the Legal Affairs Committee through extending contracts with two local experts with specific knowledge and experience in drafting judicial legislation; • Assist HCOJ to enhance its computer software for judicial examination; • Support the HCOJ to publish court decisions by providing support in assessing its current software systems for making court decisions available to the public (IT Audit). • Support the Human Rights Secretariat in finalizing the new Action Plan, if needed; • Support the working group grantees to develop the final monitoring reports on the Human Rights Action Plan and carry out thematic meetings; • Support GYLA’s efforts to reform the Code of Administrative Offenses; • Support ALFG in carrying out advocacy meetings and organizing a presentation on equality of arms; • Together with the EU’s project announce a call for expert to conduct an analysis of Georgian cases on discrimination; • Together with UNDP and the Gender Equality Council organize a presentation of the main findings of the baseline study on gender equality; • Support the Gender Equality Council in developing its Strategy and Action Plan; • Retain a local expert to help the Gender Equality Council to draft legislative initiatives relative to the Labor Law and gender equality.

• Together with GIZ, support and monitor the LoE/RIA process. Plan and organize a public presentation of the draft LoE/RIA results in cooperation with the MoJ and GIZ, and support further public discussion concerning the draft law; • Support the NGO Coalition in submitting an opinion on the “Fourth Wave” judicial reform legal drafts to the Parliament; • Support the NGO Coalition in finalizing its communication strategy and action plan with the involvement of the public relations consultant; TI will receive and consider an external expert’s opinion on its report on corruption risks in the court system.

SUB-PURPOSE 2: IMPROVE MANAGEMENT JUSTICE SYSTEM INSTITUTIONS

A. Significant Results, Accomplishments, Activities

Provide Management Assistance to the HCOJ

See reporting under Sub-Purpose 1, Strengthening Legal Framework, Judicial Reform Support.

Improve the Function of the Legal Aid Service

During the reporting period, the Legal Aid Service submitted to the Parliament the amendments to the Law on Legal Aid Service. The amendments are the result of close cooperation among PROLoG expert Avrom Sherr, the management of the state-funded Legal Aid Service (LAS), LAS Board, GBA and Public Defender’s Office. Under the amendments, staggered terms for the nominees of the Georgian Bar Association and Public Defender are introduced, and the term of the LAS Board members is decreased to three years. In addition, GBA has to nominate to the Board a lawyer with high reputation who has at least years of working experience as a lawyer. The Legal Aid Service identified immovable property- related disputes as the focus for the expansion of the LAS mandate into civil law during the period of January 1, 2018 to January 1, 2021. The amendments were sent to the MoJ for review and comments, and the Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament conducted a hearing on the amendments on December 20.

Support Institutional development of Georgian Bar Association (GBA)

See reporting under the Sub-purpose 3, Enhance Capacity of Legal Professionals.

Civil Society Capacity to Raise Awareness, Monitor and Provide Justice System Oversight

High Council of Justice Monitoring (GYLA and TI):

Throughout the quarter, GYLA and TI closely monitored the HCOJ by attending meetings, requesting public information, and analyzing the Council’s decisions. They prepared statements on various problematic issues related to judicial appointments and other processes taking place at HCOJ that were discussed and supported by the Coalition members (see above). The draft annual report on the HCOJ monitoring is due next quarter.

Court Monitoring (GYLA):

GYLA’s court monitoring project is continuing its operation, with the one-year monitoring period coming to end in February 2018. In the run-up to preparation of the monitoring report, GYLA and PROLoG will strategize on how to improve the report approach, structure and focus.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E) Indicator Results

Indicator 2.1.7: Number of training programs and other events held designed to strengthen the management and sustainability of justice sector institutions, as well as coordination among them.

Year 4 Target: 10; Results for quarter: 3

(PJR WG meeting on October 2, PJR WG meeting on December 3-4, NAEC training for HCOJ test writers)

B. Key Issues and Challenges

The state-funded Legal Aid Service faces challenges in effectively implementing an appraisal system. The key challenge is the readiness of LAS lawyers to accept the new system. In addition, it is important for the Parliament to adopt the amendments to the Law on Legal Aid Service related to the Legal Aid Board and expansion of its mandate in administrative and civil law. It is important to note that in January-February 2018, new LAS board members will be nominated and the new board will start its term.

C. Plans for next quarter

The following activities are expected during the next reporting period: • Strategic Planning Meeting with the new Legal Aid Service Board; • Training of Legal Aid Bureau Heads and Consultation Centers on effective communication and conflict resolution; • Roundtable discussion with leading Georgian judge on a topic identified by the Legal Aid Service; • Support GYLA and TI on the release of the HCOJ monitoring report; • GYLA and TI submit the draft HCOJ annual monitoring report for review; • GYLA will submit the draft court monitoring report for review.

SUB-PURPOSE 3: ENHANCE CAPACITY OF LEGAL PROFESSIONALS

A. Significant Results, Accomplishments, Activities

Enhance Professional Skills Training

Legal Research, Analysis and Writing

PROLoG supports various activities aimed at improving Teaching Methodology at Georgian law schools. PROLoG’s and its partners’ current efforts are directed at developing a guidebook for Ph.D. teaching methodology courses and developing a model “Introduction to Law” course. The model Introduction to Law course is being developed by Free Uni and Ilia Uni. The purpose of this activity is to revise the existing course content and its methodology

19 to make it more interactive and comprehendible for the first-year law students. Once finalized, the model course will be shared with other law schools.

During the reporting period, Free Uni conducted several working meetings with law school professors who teach introduction to law courses, to discuss with them the content and methodology of the updated materials (detailed outline of topics, reading materials and lesson plans). Most of the materials have already been compiled and revised by Free Uni, and are ready for translation and sharing with Professor Bahadur (WUSL) for his feedback and suggestions for improvement. The next workshop is planned for March 2018, when Professor Bahadur will help Free Uni and Ilia Uni professors as well as other interested law school teachers to fine-tune and finalize the course content and its teaching methodology.

PROLoG continued to work on the development of a Guidebook on Law Teaching Methodology for Ph.D. programs. The experts have finalized their parts, which have been compiled into one document that is undergoing final technical revisions and will be distributed among professors in February 2018.

During the reporting period, Free University and WUSL identified two cases for which they will draft amicus briefs to submit to the Constitutional Court. The two cases concern the following topics: a) the constitutionality of Article 1 of the Law of Georgia on Public Procurement (which reads in part as follows: this law shall not apply to the public procurement by a contracting authority of postal and courier services of the LLC Georgian Post), which it is argued conflicts with Article 30.2 of the Constitution (“The State shall be bound to promote free enterprise and competition. Monopolistic activity shall be prohibited, except as permitted by law”); and b) a submission by the Rustavi City Court regarding the constitutionality of Article 197 of the Code of Administrative Offences, which stipulates sanctions for failing to appear before the military conscription commission with the intention of evading military service, which it is argued conflicts with Article 14 of the Constitution (prohibition of discrimination). The statute provides for 15-day administrative arrest as a punishment for avoidance of compulsory military service when a person is unable to pay a 1000 GEL fine. This is challenged with regard to the principle of equal treatment and non- discrimination when the person objectively has no funds to pay the fine. Both amicus briefs were submitted to the Constitutional Court in this quarter.

In 2017, PROLoG hired Professor Anna Dolidze to develop an Academic Writing Manual for Georgian law schools. The Manual sets academic writing and citation standards for law school students and scholars engaged in academic research and writing. During the reporting period Professor Dolidze finalized the Manual. The presentation of the Manual took place on December 6 within the framework of the annual “University Human Rights Law Week” and was organized at Tbilisi State University (TSU). During the presentation the TSU Rector endorsed the project and stressed the importance of improving academic writing skills among students and engaging scholars in academic research, while Professor Dolidze discussed the content of the Manual. Five hundred copies of the books were printed, they will be distributed to local universities and other interested stakeholders next quarter.

During the reporting period Free University conducted training in Client Counseling for Lawyers. The training was conducted by two experienced lawyers, Sandro Bibilashvili and Lika Kvantaliani, who highlighted the importance of the first interview with the client, overviewed different methods of conducting the first interview, and discussed the overall structure and techniques of a client interview. The trainers also stressed professional ethics issues related to the attorney-client relationship, such as conflicts of interest, confidentiality and remuneration. The second half of the training was devoted to simulated interviews, where

20 participants used the knowledge acquired in the training in a simulated client counseling session. The training was attended by 25 lawyers, who received certificates and CLE credits from the GBA.

Free University also conducted an Introductory Training in Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) for NGO Representatives. A RIA is a systemic approach to critically assess the positive and negative effects of existing and/or proposed regulations and possible alternatives. The training was conducted by a lawyer, Dimitri Dzagnidze, and an economist, Lali Ghoghoberidze, who explained the essence and purposes of RIA, relevant methodologies, and international experiences. The training was attended by 14 NGO representatives from the Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary. During the reporting period experts were also working on proposed guidelines on RIA that will be finalized by February 2018. During the next quarter, Free University will organize more in-depth training on RIA methodologies where practical examples will be provided on how to conduct a RIA on specific legislative proposals and existing regulations. The draft Law on the Independent Investigative Mechanism was selected for a sample RIA to be used during the extended training.

In 2017, PROLoG issued a targeted grant to TSU’s National Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution (NCADR). The aim of the grant was to promote and popularize mediation through educational and awareness rising activities that target lawyers, students, professors and local communities in the regions of Georgia. During the reporting period NCADR conducted the final activities of its targeted grant and successfully completed the grant. In October, NCADR conducted two public lectures on mediation and two trainings on representing clients in mediation for GBA lawyers in Zugdidi and Akhaltsikhe. On November 27-29, NCADR also organized a three-day certification workshop in family mediation for lawyers and other interested professionals. NCADR experts Giorgi Tsertsvadze, Sopio Chachava and Natia Chitashvili conducted the training. The training focused on the advantages of mediation and explored the specific aspects of family dispute mediations. Twenty-seven participants acquired the knowledge and skills necessary to guide their clients towards the consensual resolution of complex matters such as financial disputes during divorce and custody issues. The training offered a combination of lectures, practical exercises and role-play, as well as communication strategy exercises and coaching elements to help participants better practice mediation. Overall, through its targeted grant NCADR engaged more than 100 lawyers and 150 stakeholders in public lectures and trainings.

Legal Ethics Chair

On October 28, the PROLoG-supported Legal Ethics Chair organized a public lecture and discussion on “Challenges of Legal Ethics in Georgia” at New Vision University. The lecture was conducted by legal ethics experts Ana Loria and Irakli Kordzakhia, who spoke on topics such as: a) the conflict of interest between lawyers, judges and prosecutors; b) the application of the Ethics Code; and c) attorney fee regulation. Lawyers, students, New Vision lecturers and representatives of other universities attended the event and were actively involved in the discussion that followed the lecture. Actual cases handled by the GBA’s Ethics Commission were also discussed and were of special interest to the audience.

New Vision University added legal ethics as a new direction to its legal clinic. Clinic students are working on cases of the GBA’s Legal Ethics Commission and analyzing their decisions. They also work on simulated legal ethics cases and attract live clients by cooperating with other legal clinics, as well as the GBA Ethics Commission.

The PROLoG-supported Legal Ethics Chair, Sophie Chachava, started her research on “Confidentiality and Protection of Personal Information in the Decisions of the GBA Ethics Commission.” The first draft of her report will be available next quarter. The Legal Ethics Chair continues to work on the development of two syllabuses for undergraduate and graduate programs.

Moot Courts/Mock Trials

On December 23-24, Free Uni organized the 2017 Commercial Law Moot Court Competition for students. This competition was held for the sixth time by Free University and is a good opportunity for students to advance their theoretical knowledge in complex issues of commercial law as well as perfect their skills of written argumentation and oral presentation. Twenty-two student teams registered for the competition, and after submission of written materials the eight teams with the highest scores were selected to participate in the oral rounds that took place at the Supreme Court. Teams from Tbilisi State University, Free University Tbilisi, Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, Caucasus University and one team from a regional university, Kutaisi Akaki Tsereteli State University, participated in the oral rounds of the competition. Free Uni and Caucasus University teams competed in the finals, with the Free Uni team emerging as the winner.

On November 18-19, Free Uni organized the second National Moot Court Competition in Human Rights Law. The subject of the competition was “Hate Speech and Holocaust Denial.” Students represented the applicant and respondent before the Constitutional Court. Fifty-three student teams registered for the competition, and after submission of written materials eight teams with the highest scores were selected to participate in the oral rounds that took place at the Supreme Court. Teams from Tbilisi State University and Free Uni competed in the finals, with the TSU team declared as the winner. Participants of the competition received certificates and prizes, and the members of the winning team will have an internship at the Constitutional Court and NGO “Georgian Democracy Initiative.”

On November 23-26, NCADR organized a workshop on the representation of clients in mediation and the 5th National Competition on Representation in Commercial Mediation. Eight student teams from Tbilisi Open University, Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi Teaching University, New Vision University, Kutaisi Akaki Tsereteli State University, Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University, Samtskhe-Javakheti State University and a united team of TSU and Tbilisi Teaching University participated in the workshop and the competition. The workshop was conducted by court mediator Aleksandre Tsuladze and NCADR executive director Natia Chitashvili. Twenty-two judges and six mediators served as volunteers, coming from the Tbilisi City Court Mediation Center, ADR providers, arbitration institutions, Georgian Association of Mediators, higher educational institutions, Supreme Court, Association of Georgian Court mediators and law firms. The Tbilisi State University team “Peacemakers” was awarded first place, and the New Vision University team was the runner- up. Third place was given to the regional team from Samtskhe-Javakheti State University, and Tbilisi Teaching University got the fourth place. Thirty-two students benefitted from the workshop and competition experience, raising their knowledge in mediation and improving their lawyering skills.

Support Human Rights and Gender Scholarship

PROLoG supported the annual “University Human Rights Law Week,” which was conducted for the fourth time in Georgia. Human Rights Law Week is an annual event celebrating December 10 as Human Right Day and discussing domestic and international human rights

22 issues relevant to the legal community in Georgia. The main goal of Human Rights Law Week is to raise awareness of human rights issues among university students and other young Georgians, as well as to instigate more active academic discussion on these topics. Human Rights Law Week took place from December 4-11, and was organized by Free University Tbilisi and six other leading Georgian law schools. During the event the participating schools delivered a series of lectures and public discussions on different human rights topics, including sessions dedicated to the 2017 constitutional reform in Georgia, research on the prohibition of entrapment under the European Convention on Human Rights, and a shadow report submitted to the United Nation’s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Professor Bridget Arimond, from PROLoG partner Northwestern University (USA), participated in several discussions focusing on the legislative regulation of sexual harassment and the role of university law clinics in the protection of human rights. Human Rights Law Week also included the presentation of Professor Anna Dolidze’s Academic Writing Manual and many more interesting events. The Human Rights Law Week closing ceremony took place at the Supreme Court, where an award was given to the human rights activist selected by the universities as having made a special contribution to protecting human rights during 2017. The recipient was Ana Natsvlishvili, former chairman of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association.

During the reporting period the National Institute for Human Rights (NIHR) continued its work on several research projects that are part of their grant. One project is a research paper focused on European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) Article 16 (right to privacy and personal autonomy) and its comparative analysis from German, American and ECtHR practice perspectives. Another is a legal memorandum for the Legal Aid Service on issues related to implementation of the new Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) and potential challenges related to its compatibility with the ECHR. In particular, communications submitted to the European Court of Human Rights with respect to new CPC will be analyzed in the memorandum.

NIHR conducted two public lectures on human rights issues. On October 25, NIHR organized a public discussion on the topic of “Judicial Authority vs. Freedom of Expression.” The speakers at the discussion were Eva Gotsiridze, former member of the High Council of Justice, and Giorgi Beraia, Head of Rule of Law Direction at Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI). During the discussion Ms. Gotsiridze talked about the need to protect judicial authority by creating additional legislative safeguards, while Mr. Beraia highlighted the risks it poses on restricting freedom of expression. The speakers presented their arguments, talked about international experiences, and discussed the existing challenges in Georgia regarding this issue.

On November 29, NIHR conducted its second public lecture. The topic was Georgia’s drug policies and a draft legislative bill to reform those policies. The speakers at the public lecture were representatives of the members of the “Georgian National Drug Policy Platform,” the initiator of the legislative bill: Guram Imnadze (EMC), David Subeliani (White Noise Movement), and David Otiashvili (Alternative Georgia). The speakers reviewed the major highlights of the draft bill, the changes it proposes to introduce in the criminal law, as well as the public health dimensions of the drug problem. Mr. Subeliani talked about the process of initiating the bill and the negotiations with major decision makers at Parliament and in the government, and Mr. Otiashvili overviewed the trends of drug use in Georgia, the public health problems that the existing legislation is fueling, and the solutions this draft bill proposes. The public lecture was attended by students, who actively engaged in discussions with the speakers.

On November 3, NIHR organized an Academic Conference on 2017 Constitutional Reform in Georgia. The Conference addressed controversial issues that create the most fundamental disagreements among society. Topics included: new constitutional regulations of the judiciary and constitutional judicial review, the amended human rights and electoral system chapters of the Constitution, the role of the Parliament, and the balance of powers. Among the panelists of the conference were former judges of the Constitutional Court, Konstantine Vardzelashvili and Ketevan Eremadze, Anna Dolidze – the Parliamentary Secretary of the President, Nazi Janezashvili – member of the High Council of Justice, as well as members of the Constitutional Commission Vakhushti Menabde and Vakhtang Khmaladze. More than 70 participants attended the conference: students and law professors from various universities, acting judges of the Constitutional Court, and others. The audience actively engaged in discussions regarding problematic provisions of the amended Constitution and their practical implications. Professor Zedelashvili prepared an outline document of the conference that will be finalized during the next quarter and distributed among the attendees.

In Fall 2017, PROLoG extended the Ilia State University Human Rights Chair grant, which includes targeted support to establish a human rights clinic at Ilia Uni’s Master’s Degree program. Ms. Shericka Pringle, Executive Director of the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Bluhm Legal Clinic, and Professor Bridget Arimond, clinical professor of law from Northwestern University, visited Ilia State University to evaluate the current needs and assist Ilia State University in establishing the Clinic. The experts held several meetings, made presentations, and shared with the Ilia State University team materials regarding necessary considerations and best practices with respect to the administrative and operational side of establishing a law school legal clinic. Professor Arimond also made a presentation at Illia State University on “The Role of Law School Legal Clinics in the Protection of Human Rights in the United States” together with Ilia State University Human Rights Chair, Tamar Gurchiani. The presentation was attended by law students and professors.

In October, the PROLoG-supported Human Rights Chair at Ilia State University organized two regional meetings and public discussions at Kutaisi Akaki Tsereteli State University regarding women's rights, and at Batumi State University regarding civil society and civil rights.

On November 27, the Ilia University Human Rights Chair held a “Socratic Discussion” with Ekaterine Skhiladze, Deputy Public Defender and Master’s students in the “Public Law and Policy Program” at Ilia State University School of Law and students at the University of Georgia. The students and speakers discussed the latest reports by the Public Defender, with the particular emphasis on gender discrimination. They also addressed the following questions: What leverage does the Public Defender have in the private sector? If the majority of the recommendations are left unanswered, how should Parliament address that issue? What are the novelties regarding this institution in the new Constitution? How are gender discrimination cases adjudicated in European countries?

On November 24, the Ilia Uni Human Rights Chair held a “Socratic Discussion” with Tamar Kintsurashvili, Director of the Media Development Foundation, Nata Dzvelishvili, Executive Director of the Journalistic Ethics Charter and students of the Master’s Degree program “Public Law and Policy Program” at Ilia State University School of Law. The students and speakers addressed following questions: How to combat upholding sexism, negative stereotypes and prejudice against women in the media? How self-regulatory bodies function, and can they protect the principle of equality? What are the major decisions of those self- regulatory bodies as well as the Journalistic Ethics Charter? How to maintain a balance

24 between the freedom of speech and expression and promoting gender equality? Thirteen students attended the public discussion.

Support HSOJ/Courts Training in Human Rights for Judges and Judicial Personnel

PROLoG’s work plan for 2017-2018 includes development of several CLE courses for judges. PROLoG proposed to the High School of Justice (HSoJ) to update the existing “Basic Course on Human Rights” and divide it into two separate courses, one for civil/administrative law judges and one for criminal law chamber judges. PROLoG also proposed to develop model courses and conduct ToT trainings on: a) interim measures in civil cases and related human rights standards, b) legal reasoning and legal interpretation for civil law judges, and c) minority rights. During the reporting period, PROLoG held several consultations with HSoJ and final confirmation is still pending. As reported, HSoJ is actively working on its annual CLE program and will respond to PROLoG’s offer during the next reporting period.

During the last work plan period PROLoG completed two successful sustained human rights programs for judicial assistants at the Tbilisi City Court (TCC) and the Supreme Court. Sixty so-called “writing assistants” participated in the program, which aimed to improve the quality of judicial decisions by ensuring that the required human rights standards are applied in court decisions. The intensive trainings covered both basic and practical aspects of human rights relevant to practice in Georgian courts, as well as a three-month long hands-on mentoring component involving actual cases for the TCC assistants. PROLoG plans to expand the program and this time focus on Tbilisi and Kutaisi Appellate Courts. The expanded program will be implemented in cooperation with the EU4Justice Judiciary Support project. During the reporting period, the PROLoG team had communications with Tbilisi and Kutaisi Appellate Court Chairmen and respective staff to introduce the program and ensure their interest and participation. The Appellate Courts provided a list of assistants that will be included in the program and expressed their commitment to fully engage in the program. Approximately 50 judicial assistants and employees of the analytical departments will benefit from this program. During the next quarter, the PROLoG team will work on the solicitation of experts and respective timeline for conducting trainings in Tbilisi and Kutaisi.

On October 6-8, PROLoG, in cooperation with the EU4Justice Judicial Support Project, organized a two-day working meeting for Supreme Court judges on human rights issues. In particular, the meeting concerned a new case admissibility criteria adopted after the so-called “Third Wave” of judicial reform that obligates the Supreme Court to assess appealed lower court judgments in terms of their consistency with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The two-day meeting was attended by seven Supreme Court judges. Chief Justice Nino Gvenetadze talked about the importance of adopting consistent approaches for the new admissibility criteria and refining Court’s practice in this regard, and two human rights experts, Besarion Bokhashvili and Levan Meskhoradze, facilitated the meeting. Together with judges, the experts discussed the ECtHR admissibility criteria relevant for the Georgian context using the example of ECHR Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life). They also discussed ECtHR decisions against Georgia and their implications for the Court’s practice. During the workshop, judges noted importance of continuing this kind of meetings and the opportunity it provides judges to sit together and discuss court case law. In the next quarter, PROLoG together with EU4Justice Judicial Support Project, will organize a second meeting with the judges. It was agreed that this meeting will concern ECHR Article 6 (right to fair trial) and related admissibility issues. This quarter, PROLoG worked on contracting experts who will prepare the meeting agenda and respective materials.

Together with the EU4Justice project, other donor organizations and HSoJ, PROLoG is supporting the first ever “Judicial Winter School” for judicial assistants and courts’ Analytical Unit employees. The Winter School will focus on challenges and problematic issues of court practice, recent and prominent case law from the ECtHR, and other international human rights instruments. The tentative date for the Winter School is February 25 – March 3, 2018.

Support GBA Training in Human Rights as a Part of the Continuing Legal Education (CLE) for Lawyers:

In the reporting period GBA conducted five trainings on PROLoG-supported CLE courses on “Legal Writing”, “Plea Bargaining and Human Rights” and “Fair Trial and Access to Justice in Administrative Proceedings.” Ninety-one lawyers were trained as a result.

PROLoG is continuing to support GBA to develop model courses on human rights-related subjects. In November, PROLoG published a Request for Proposals seeking experts to develop the following CLE courses for GBA: “Persuasive Legal Writing,” “Role of Fair Trial in Protection of Property Rights,” and “European Court of Human Rights Case-law Concerning Georgia.” In the next quarter PROLoG will conduct ToT workshops for GBA trainers on the above topics, as a result of which GBA will have a pool of qualified trainers who are able to teach the model courses to their colleagues.

Institutional Strengthening of GBA

The Georgian Bar Association General Assembly was held on December 9. There were 12 candidates competing for the position of chairman. Out of 4568 GBA lawyers, 2324 members registered to vote and 2054 participated in the voting (ISFED’s report on the GBA Election states that 2048 lawyers participated in the voting). None of the candidates received a majority of the votes and, pursuant to Article 24 of the Law on Advocates and Article 17 of the GBA Charter, a run-off between the two candidates who received the most votes – David Asatiani (1129 votes) and Levan Janashia (635 votes) – was planned for December 23. Runoff took place on December 23 between the two candidates David Asatiani and Levan Janashia. Mr. Janashia refused to participate in the runoff. Totally 945 lawyers participated and 922 voted in favor of Mr. Asatiani. Unfortunately, incidents which took place during the election on December 9 undermine the reputation of the GBA and its members. USAID and PROLoG agreed to discuss the future plans of continuous support of GBA with other donor organizations.

Supporting Advancement of Law on Advocates

PROLoG continues to provide technical assistance to the GBA in developing legislative changes to the Law on Advocates. During the reporting period, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament suspended hearing of the amendments to the Law on Advocates until the end of the GBA General Assembly and election of new governing bodies.

Support Bar Examination System Development

The Bar exams were held on December 2, 3, 10, 16 and 17, 2017 at Free University. There were 982 candidates registered for the examination. 839 candidates participated in the exam, and 228 candidates successfully passed it, out of which 152 are women and 76 men. With PROLoG’s support, sample bar examination questions had been developed and were printed

26 for the bar exam candidates. The passing rate has increased from 24% to 28% since the June 2017 exam.

Specialization Number of Female Male Number of Female Male participants Candidates who passed Civil 432 313 119 144 106 38 Criminal 249 121 128 60 30 30 General 158 90 68 24 16 8

Before the bar exams, a meeting was held with the representatives of the leading Georgian universities to update them with the bar exam reforms and to share the bar exam questions book that each candidate received upon registration. This will help the law schools to better understand the format of the analytical questions. The brochure was prepared with extensive support from PROLoG expert Jean Gaskil.

Clinical Law Program in Lawyers Professional Ethics

The fall session of the legal ethics clinical program started in October 2017. Students from the Master’s Degree programs at the following universities were selected for the clinical program: Tbilisi State University (9 students); Sulkhan Saba Orbeliani University (5 students); Black Sea International University (9 students); European University (1 student). In total, 24 students (17 female and 7 male) were involved in the clinical program. The interest towards the program has significantly increased since its start, when only four students expressed the interest to participate. The students learned about the work of the GBA and its Ethics Commission. Four weeks of classes were held for the students on professional legal ethics, disciplinary legal proceedings, forms of decisions, and the mechanisms of drafting Ethics Commission decisions. Students also had an opportunity to get familiar with the case-law of the Commission. The students will start to work on practical cases with lawyers of the Ethics Commission from January 2018.

Support Internship System Development

PROLoG, though its grant support and direct technical assistance, continued supporting GBA to develop an effective internship system for new members. The pilot training courses for the interns started in October for a group of 20 first-year lawyers and 10 current interns (22 female and 8 male). The mandatory three-month theoretical training component of the internship program included 90-hour courses in civil and criminal law specialization and 114 hours for general specialization. There are six candidates for the general specialization, 10 for criminal law, and 14 for civil specializations. The courses were led by leading experts of the GBA, including Zaza Khatiashvili, David Asatiani, Irakli Kandashvili, Lasha Kalandadze, Vladimer Mkervalishvili and Giorgi Turazashvili. The courses finished on December 18, and each participant was awarded with the certificate.

Supporting Professional Associations - Association of Law Firms in Georgia (ALFG)

ALFG hosted two meetings of the professional ethics working group, one on October 6 and another on November 4-5. The first meeting was held in Tbilisi and the other in Kachreti, Kakheti. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss important topics related to the concept note on the organization of law firms, including conflict of interest, principle of confidentiality, and the ethical obligations of non-lawyer law firm employees, including interns and non-lawyer directors. On November 4-5, meeting participants shared the results

27 of legal research on the topics of conflict of interest, principle of confidentiality and organizational management of law firms, and agreed on the final version of the concept paper, which only requires technical corrections to be completed.

On October 9, ALFG organized a lunch meeting on Construction Law. The meeting was attended by 46 lawyers and the speakers were Lasha Uplisashvili (Senior Associate at BLC Law Office), Nugzar Gasviani (Deputy Chairman of the Department of Roads), Kakha Potskhishvili (Defuty Chairman of the Spatial Planning and Construction Policy Department of Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development), and Badri Lepsaia (Head of Engineering Expertise Department of Levan Samkharauli National Forensics Bureau). Presentations were made about the FIDIC (the international federation of consulting engineer) rules and theoretical aspects of their use, the new Building Code, and the availability of construction expertise services.

Support HSOJ Commercial Law Training for Judges

On October 21-22, November 11-12 and December 2-3, PROLoG, in cooperation with the HSoJ and GIZ, organized three trainings on Corporate Law and Governance in Georgia and the EU. The purpose of the trainings, led by five judge-trainers, was to pilot a course that had been developed with the support of Supreme Court Justice Nino Bakakuri and Associate Professor Dr. Lasha Tsertsvadze, in cooperation with a comparative corporate law professor from Fordham University Law School, Professor Martin Gelter, retained by PROLoG and GIZ. A comprehensive Course Reader, initially developed by the trainers in English and then translated into Georgian, was edited by Lasha Tsertsvadze, the PROLoG expert. As a result, the Georgian judges received the first reader of its kind in Georgian, which will ensure the sustainable impact of the course and assist them in finding answers to very complex company law related issues.

The three-part pilot training program was the final stage in the development of the course. In the first stage, PROLoG and GIZ supported the development of the Company Law course and the initial training of judges on the course. In the second stage, earlier in 2017, PROLoG and GIZ selected future judge-trainers, and had the international and local experts who developed the course provide a Training of Trainers program to those judges. In this final stage, the judge-trainers served as trainers for the first time, piloting the Company Law course with their fellow judges. Around 20 judges from various courts of Georgia participated in the trainings. The course on EU-Georgia Company Law will be part of the HSOJ curriculum. It should be stressed that the course has also become a part of the HSOJ curriculum for in-service training for court staff and is conducted by the judge-trainers trained by PROLoG and GIZ.

Publication of the Civil Code Commentary

PROLoG, in cooperation with GIZ started the process of publishing the second volume of the Civil Code Commentary, which covers property law-related issues (Articles 147-312). PROLoG expects that the book will be ready for publishing by April 2018. PROLoG also intends to organize a public presentation of the book. The release of the second book of the Commentary is much anticipated by both legal scholars and practitioners, as it provides an important update concerning the interpretation of property law related articles.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E) Indicator Results

Sub-Purpose 3: Skills and Knowledge of Legal Professionals Enhanced

3.1.1. Number of law students, lawyers, judges, and court personnel benefitting from improved teaching facilities and curricula supported by the USG (F Indicator).

Quarter: 445 (207 Male and 238 Female) Year 4 Target: 1100 LOP Target: 4,000

Students trained: 220 (94 Male; 126 Female) Lawyers trained: 152 (75 Male; 77 Female) Judges trained: 65 (38 Male; 27 Female) Court Personnel trained: 8 (0 Male; 8 Female)

B. Key Issues and Challenges

In 2016-2017, Free University faced intense staff turnover, which caused delays in the grant management process and impacted its ability to meet its objectives. This problem persisted in the reporting period as well, and multiple activities had to be postponed to later stages of the grant. PROLoG is working with Free University to implement adequate cross-training and a better communication strategy to help new grant managers avoid the negative consequences of staff turnover, which is a result of substantial transitions at Free that have occurred since the death of its founder and main benefactor in 2014. PROLoG, in coordination with USAID, will further engage with the respective representatives of the partner law school to ensure improved continuity and cooperation.

HSoJ has been unusually slow in responding to PROLoG’s offers related to new CLE courses. The reasons might be the member turnover inside the “Independent Board” as well as HSoJ’s limited human capacities.

Unfortunately, events during the elections of chairman and the governing bodies at Georgian Bar Association on December 9 undermine the reputation of the organization and its members, and are a matter of a serious concern for donor community. The current leadership reports that it will take several actions to restore the GBA’s reputation. The GBA elections and related complications also caused delay in planning and implementing the GBA’s CLE programs. In addition, the amendments to the Law on Advocates are still pending. It is expected that active communication with GBA regarding its CLE element will continue once the GBA grant is signed and issued by PROLoG.

C. Plans for Next Quarter:

• Legal Writing Textbook published; • One workshop for the Supreme Court judges on ECHR Article 6 and relevant admissibility criteria; • Winter School for judicial assistants; • Implementation of human rights program for judicial assistants at the Appellate Courts; • Guidebook on Law Teaching Methodology at the Ph.D. level delivered; • One workshop on “Introduction to Law” for law professors; • Research paper on right to privacy delivered; • LAS legal memo delivered; • One in-depth training for NGOs on Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) conducted; • Public lecture on legal ethics issues organized by Legal Ethics Chair; 29

• Annual legal ethics conference organized; • Two public lectures and film screenings organized by Human Rights Chair; • Course on persuasive legal writing developed for GBA and ToT organized; • Course on role of fair trial in protection of property rights developed and ToT organized; • Course on European Court of Human Rights case-law concerning Georgia developed and ToT organized; • Second volume of Civil Code Commentary published; • ALFG lunch meeting for lawyers on selected topic conducted; • ALFG trainings (2) for lawyers on selected topic identified during the needs assessment survey; • ALFG presentation of the concept paper on the management and ethical standards of law firms; • High-level U.S. judge brought to Georgia for public events; • Prepare for U.S. judges to shadow judges in Georgia; • Prepare for study trips for Georgian judges to New York/Washington, DC and San Francisco/Reno, NV; • Prepare for training trip for Georgian judges to National Judicial College; • Prepare for Georgian judges’ secondment to U.S. court.

SUB-PURPOSE 4: IMPROVE ACCESS TO JUSTICE TO MARGINALIZED GROUPS

Grants in Support of Legal Aid and Awareness Raising

In this quarter, five NGOs started implementation of their newly awarded legal aid grants (Georgian Democracy Initiative, Partnership for Human Rights, Union Sapari, Human Rights Center, and Tolerance and Diversity Center). The grantees will identify strategic litigation and other cases appropriate for promoting the rights of women and marginalized groups, including the LGBTQ community, before the courts of common jurisdiction, the Constitutional Court, and the European Court for Human Rights (ECtHR).

On June 13-14, PROLoG organized a retreat for its new grantees so they were aware of the projects that partner NGOs are implementing with PROLoG funding and to provide them with information about USAID branding, reporting, and other project implementation-related activities and rules. PROLoG staff members reviewed the marketing and branding regulations, discussed ways to avoid possible overlaps in activities and how to identify strategic litigation cases during the project's implementation process, and reviewed awareness raising activities, existing needs and future plans.

During Nov 28-30, under the mentorship program for legal aid lawyers, the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC) representatives conducted a three-day training for NGO legal aid lawyers to strengthen their capacity to litigate strategically important cases at the ECtHR. This was the third training of the mentorship program. Participants presented the violence against women cases they were assigned during the last training, had long discussions about the facts in each case and consulted on the relevant legal remedies to be applied in each case. An important part of the training was that EHRAC gave time to the individual legal clinic work of each NGO, as all of the organizations have cases they want to submit to the ECtHR and are in need of EHRAC’s legal expertise.

Legal aid grant programs 30

Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) GYLA’s Legal Aid Centers in Tbilisi and eight regional offices continued to provide free legal assistance to individuals. GYLA provides legal aid and representation before the common courts, Constitutional Court and European Court of Human Rights for vulnerable persons, including women and girls who are victims of domestic violence; those experiencing ethnic discrimination and/or forced marriage; victims of hate and bias-related crimes; and victims of crimes allegedly perpetrated by representatives of law enforcement agencies.

During the reporting period, GYLA provided 2,517 consultations and 340 representations. It mostly litigated cases involving domestic violence, discrimination, and crimes allegedly perpetrated by law enforcement representatives. As a result of GYLA’s domestic violence cases, two protective orders were issued by the courts. GYLA used a holistic approach and provided legal assistance to the victims of domestic violence in all related matters, including civil disputes on divorce, child custody and alimony, to empower the victims of domestic violence. In addition, GYLA started work on four new domestic violence cases, representing victims before administrative bodies and common courts.

GYLA started working on three new cases of discrimination. In one case, GYLA is providing legal assistance to an underage person on the autism spectrum. Because of the child’s condition, the school demanded that the parents remove the child from the school. With GYLA’s assistance, the child’s parent submitted an application to the school alleging disciplinary violations by a specialist teacher who insulted the mother of the child during the discussions on the child’s enrollment in the school. In November, GYLA’s lawyer represented the interests of the child before the disciplinary committee of the school, where the application of the parent was considered. GYLA also applied to the Ministry of Education and requested it allocate resources to the school in order to effectively cover the needs of the child. At present, the child continues to attend the school.

During the reporting period GYLA successfully finalized eight cases concerning the rights of women, freedom of expression and prohibition of discrimination based on citizenship. In one of the successfully litigated cases, GYLA protected interests of three members of “Auditorium 115,” who were charged with an administrative violation for joining the street protest of railway company workers in August 2017. During the peaceful protest the police arrested 10 participants. As a result, the cases against GYLA’s three clients were terminated.

In another successful case, Tbilisi Appellate Court upheld the decision of the first instance court and required that the Ministry of Internal Affairs pay compensation of 12,500 GEL for punitive damages inflicted during the demonstration against homophobia and transphobia on May 17, 2013. The court found the Ministry’s work ineffective during the demonstration.

GYLA also submitted three cases to the Constitutional Court. GYLA argues the unconstitutionality of Article 150(1) of the Code of Administrative Offenses. According to the article, it is an administrative offense to post posters, slogans or banners on places that are not allocated for that purpose. GYLA believes there is no reasonable balance between the legitimate interests of city aesthetics and the freedom of expression, as the challenged norm prohibits putting banners and slogans on private property regardless of the owner's consent.

GYLA applied to the Constitutional Court on behalf of Noe Korsava to challenge the custodial punishment imposed because of the possession of 0.00000126 gram of methamphetamine. GYLA argues that the amount of controlled substance is so low that it is useless either for personal consumption or for distribution, and that no real danger results

31 from the possession of such a small amount. GYLA argues that imprisonment for the crime constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, prohibited by the Article 17(2) of the Georgian Constitution.

On November 19, GYLA submitted a new application to the European Court of Human Rights: Kordzaia v. Georgia. In that case, an investigator informed the applicant, I. Kordzaia, that his telephone calls were secretly recorded in June 2015. The investigator also provided materials to the applicant, including the court decision authorizing secret wiretapping, and explained to him the rules for appealing the court’s decision within one month under Article 1439(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code. In May 2017, within one month of learning this information, the applicant’s lawyer applied to the Appellate Court on the basis of Article 1439(3). The Appellate Court declared the applicant’s claim inadmissible, ruling that the applicant was obliged to submit his claim within 48 hours on the basis of Article 1433(14). The ruling of the Appellate Court is final. In its application to the ECtHR, GYLA argues a violation of Articles 8 and 6 of the ECHR, as the existing regulation is vague and does not clearly state the period during which a ruling should be appealed.

Transparency International-Georgia (TI)

TI Georgia’s Advocacy and Legal Advice Centers (hereinafter ALAC) operated in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi and Batumi. Between October 1 and December 31, 320 persons contacted the ALAC offices. All were consulted verbally and provided with free legal advice. Of the 320 initial contacts, 191 individuals were summoned to the ALAC offices for further consultation and assessment of their documents. Of those, 127 cases were relevant to the scope and focus of TI’s activities and ALAC lawyers represented beneficiaries directly at courts or state institutions.

TI’s Tbilisi office successfully finalized 11 court cases involving illegal dismissals and one case related to property rights. The Kutaisi office had four successful cases, two related to illegal dismissals; in 2 cases TI’s lawyers helped beneficiaries regain property rights over their land plots. The Zugdidi office successfully finalized two cases, one related to property rights and one to illegal dismissal. The Batumi office had six successful cases, all related to property rights.

TI Georgia has been protecting the rights of former Chair of Tbilisi City Court Mamuka Akhvlediani, who was illegally dismissed from the chairmanship in February 2016. The dismissal resolution referred to the case assignment decisions made by Mr. Akhvlediani during his chairmanship. According to the HCOJ, the Tbilisi City Court Chair ignored HCOJ regulations and abused his powers by assuming the Council’s authority. Akhvlediani’s case has exhausted the national remedies and TI Georgia is preparing to launch an ECtHR application. TI Georgia will be assisted in preparing the application by EHRAC, which is already involved in the case preparation. The application will be filed in February 2018.

Human Rights Center (HRC)

HRC is implementing the project “Promote Access to Justice for Women, Religious and Ethnic Minorities in the Regions of Georgia” with the purpose of providing legal representation and consultations for target groups in Tbilisi, Kvemo-Kartli, Shida-Kartli and Kakheti.

In the reporting period, HRC provided 200 legal consultations in Tbilisi, Shida Kartli, Kakheti and Kvemo Kartli offices. HRC’s Kakheti office finalized four legal aid cases on

32 early marriage. HRC’s Kvemo Kartli office successfully advocated the infrastructural problems of the Roma community in Gardabani municipality with the local self-government, and on December 22 the municipal assembly allocated special funds in the 2018 municipal budget to eliminate the infrastructural problems of the Roma settlement.

In this reporting period HRC submitted one case to the Constitutional Court, N.L. vs Parliament; it relates to equality of arms and the right to a fair trial. The judgment of Tbilisi City Court convicting N.L. indicates that evidence the defense later claimed to be inadmissible was used by the chairman of the pre-trial session and that the evidence provided by the prosecutor was accepted, which later became the basis for the guilty verdict and 9-year imprisonment term for N.L. Use of the allegedly inadmissible evidence directly violates the fundamental rights of N.L. as guaranteed by Chapter II of the Constitution.

In October 2017, the semi-naked body of E.N. was found hanging in a cattle shed in Kvareli municipality. E.N. had multiple injuries on her body that indicated physical harassment before her death. An investigation is ongoing under Article 115 of the Criminal Code (bringing a person to the point of suicide). Before her death, domestic violence in the family was recorded by the police, into which the Kvareli municipality department of the MIA had launched a criminal investigation, which is ongoing. With the assistance of HRC’s lawyer, victim status was granted to E.N.’s mother, and she and the HRC lawyer were allowed to study the case materials and the mother was questioned.

On October 6, representatives of HRC’s Tbilisi and Gurjaani offices met beneficiaries of the Leliani village Adults Education Center in Lagodekhi municipality. The purpose of the field visit was to raise the awareness of the women in Leliani about issues such as early marriage, domestic violence, gender equality, property rights of women, and women’s participation in the decision-making process at the local and regional levels.

Georgian Trade Union Confederation (GTUC)

GTUC is implementing the project “Strategic Litigation and Awareness Raising Campaign for Women and Vulnerable Group to Ensure Access to Justice in Labor Relations at National and International Level” to increase access to justice for women, representatives of ethnic, religious and sexual minorities, and people with disabilities by addressing discrimination in the workplace. The project focuses on issues of unequal treatment of applicants at the hiring stage and during employment, unjustified termination of contracts after maternity leave, the lack of a state-funded maternity allowance for self-employed women, the use of service contracts as opposed to labor contracts for female workers, and sexual harassment in the workplace.

GTUC’s Tbilisi office provided 143 consultations and its Batumi office provided 29 consultations related to the issues such as: pre-contractual relations, prohibition of discrimination, term and form of the labor contract, termination of labor relations, equal pay for equal work, length of maternity leave, rule and amount of reimbursement, length and rule of sick leave, work time, overtime work and etc.

During the reporting period, GTUC conducted three trainings in Tbilisi, Lagodekhi and Mtskheta on national and international standards, mechanisms and practice on labor rights of women.

Along with working on several cases of discrimination at the workplace as well as illegal dismissal of pregnant women and women on maternity leave, GTUC prepared a

33 constitutional lawsuit appealing the last part of Article 37, part 3, paragraph (g) of the Labor Code. Under that provision, an employer is granted the right to terminate labor relations with a woman if the term of the labor contract expires while she is pregnant or on maternity leave. GTUC lawyers contend the provision gives employers broad opportunities for discrimination and that it contradicts the Georgian Constitution Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination), Article 30 (labor right) and Article 42 (right to address court).

In November and December a GTUC lawyer was invited to the Public broadcaster, where she spoke on maternity leave, non-discrimination provisions in legislation, and its implementation in practice.

Human Rights Monitoring and Education Center (EMC)

EMC’s legal aid project “Improving Human Rights Conditions for Marginalized Groups through Strategic Litigation” aims to increase access to justice for religious, ethnic and sexual minorities by addressing restrictions on freedom of religion for non-dominant religious groups, discrimination based on religion and ethnicity, inconsistent state policies toward restitution for takings of religious properties during Soviet times, issues related to construction of places of worship, problems of low political representation and integration of the Azerbaijani community, transparency of the State Agency on Religious Affairs, proselytism and discrimination in public schools, restriction of freedom of assembly and freedom of expression towards the LGBT community, and hate-motivated crimes.

During the reporting period EMC successfully finalized two cases related to issuing a construction permit for the Catholic Church in Rustavi and the registration of property owned by the Catholic Church on Leselidze Street, downtown Tbilisi. EMC started work on a case involving threats of violence and deprivation of life on Facebook by members of ultra-nationalist groups. In October and November, due to the public activities of LGBTQ activists K.B. and B.G., they were intensively attacked with individual and public threats of violence by ultra-nationalist aggressive groups, including "Georgian Marsh" and the National Socialist Movement "Georgia's Unity.” Public calls for the prevention of the activists' public activities were also made by the "Child Rights Protection Society" and the newspaper “Asaval-Dasavali” also dedicated some articles to this topic. On November 1, the Facebook user "White Nazi", who was already identified, made brutal and threatening declarations towards the activists. EMC submitted a substantiated application to the MIA and Prosecutor's Office on the above-mentioned case and requested that it review the threats towards the activists and evaluate them in the context of inhumane and degrading treatment. In addition, the EMC requested that the Prosecutor's Office grant the activists the status of victims and promptly investigate the identified persons.

Tolerance and Diversity Institute (TDI): Legal Aid Grant

TDI under the project “Combatting Discrimination on Religious, Ethnic and Racial Grounds” ensures the protection of freedom of religion, providing legal aid and increasing access to justice for religious, ethnic minorities and the victims of racial discrimination in Tbilisi, Achara and Kvemo-Kartli regions. During the reporting period TDI provided 155 legal consultations and 7 representations.

On October 10, TDI representatives met with the members of local religious communities, non-governmental organizations and media in Marneuli. The meetings introduced the project to the representatives of local religious and ethnic groups, offered free legal aid, and

34 identified and analyzed the problems and needs of religious and ethnic communities in Kvemo Kartli region.

On November 13, at the office of Open Society Georgia Foundation, TDI held a working meeting with the foreign citizens who are currently residing in Georgia, among them foreign students. The topic of the meeting was racial discrimination in Georgia and the ways to overcome the problem. The meeting was to introduce TDI’s activities and current project to the citizens of foreign countries currently living in Georgia, to identify existing problems and to develop a strategy for more effective cooperation on racial discrimination issues.

During the reporting period, TDI had pending litigation on seven cases concerning the denial of resident permits and started working on five new cases. The cases are pending at Tbilisi City Court and Appellate Court. In the process of issuing a residence permit, the Public Services Development Agency requires a recommendation from the State Security Service on the expediency of issuing a permit. At the same time, the Department of Counterintelligence of the State Security Service does not substantiate its recommendation and justifies the failure to do so on the confidentiality of evidence. It is noteworthy that the recommendation of the State Security Service is almost always negative when the applicants are from specific geographical regions/countries. TDI is actively working to address strategically the problem of alleged discriminatory rejections of residency permits.

TDI, together with EMC, started working on the case of an Armenian Tandoyants church. In July 2017, the Government of Georgia transferred the damaged Tandoyants Surb Astvatsatsin church and its surrounding area, located on Agmashenebeli Ave. in Tbilisi, to the Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The state did not study the historical origins of the Church or its cultural and confessional characteristics before the transfer was conducted. The GOC Patriarchate has already launched a variety of work on the church foundation. According to numerous official sources, the mentioned temple is an Armenian Tandoyants church, which was taken from the religious organization after the Soviet occupation in 1924 and until July 2017 remained as state property. On behalf of the Armenian Apostolic Church, TDI and EMC jointly prepared a lawsuit to appeal the decision of National Agency of State Property transferring the church to the Patriarchate. They also submitted a complaint against the National Agency of State Property to the Ministry of Economics and Sustainable Development with a request to annul the decision according to which the state cancelled its registration on the property.

During the reporting period, TDI held individual meetings with religious organizations on the issue of advocating for the restitution of the property confiscated during the Soviet times. Simultaneously, TDI is studying and analyzing the legal status of the confiscated buildings and existing international practice on restitution of the property. TDI’s lawyers are drafting a policy paper to advocate initiatives on the restitution of the confiscated property.

TDI successfully finalized the strategic case of the religious organization LEPL Savior's Bible Church. The appellate court held unlawful the limitation on construction permits for houses of worship by religious organizations, and clarified that recommendations for issuance of a construction permit from the State Agency for Religious Issues must not be a precondition for issuing permits as the law does not require it.

TDI Awareness Raising Grant:

TDI is implementing a nationwide awareness raising grant “Promoting Diversity Enhancing Dialogue and Empowering Minorities and Women” to raise public awareness about

35 discrimination problems faced by religious and ethnic minorities and foreigners residing in Georgia and to empower representatives of minority groups.

On November 17, TDI organized a presentation of the project and launched the multimedia platform Images of Diversity. The multimedia platform tells stories about the religious and ethnic diversity of Georgia, introduces interesting people, and offers a journey in various regions of Georgia. The project’s Facebook page is actively updated throughout the campaign with the following: mini-documentary videos, articles, photo-stories, graphic videos and all activities implemented under awareness raising grant.

TDI has already published three mini-documentary videos: Hurie, Bible in Sign Language and Polish Priest form Samtskhe, and widely distributed them in social media sources (Facebook, YouTube). The videos depict individual stories about the challenges that ethnic, religious and racial minorities encounter in their everyday lives, discriminatory treatment by the majority group, how the minorities try to protect their rights through the justice system, and when the court/law enforcement bodies ensure protection of freedom of religion and the cases when they are deprived of this possibility. On December 11, TDI held a presentation of the above mentioned three documentaries in Tsnori at a youth club. The presentation was followed by a discussion with the participation of one video’s protagonist Hurie Abashidze, video director Beso Gvenetadze, and project manager Eka Chitanava. Forty students attended the presentation.

During the reporting period TDI prepared and published two articles about Catholics and Pentecostals in Georgia. The educational articles are on the topics of religious and ethnic discrimination in Georgia, presenting historical materials and cases that are currently ignored in school textbooks or popular discourse.

Along with preparing new materials for its platform “Images of Diversity,” TDI plans active social campaign and presentations in regions next quarter. In the month and a half since launching of the Facebook page, the project has had considerable feedback to the posts. The story about Hurie was covered by international media as well, such as Al Jazeera.

FACEBOOK PUBLISH PEOPLE VIEWS LIKES SHARES TOP POST DATE REACHED AUDIENCE

Hurie (Video) 17/11/2017 22.8K 3,602 78 48 N/A YouTube

Bible in Sign 20/11/2017 7.2K 2,200 55 48 WOMEN, Language YouTube 18-24 (Video)

Polish Priest 08/12/2017 38.1K 16,569 155 52 MEN, 35-44 from YouTube Samtskhe (Video)

Photo story 19/12/2017 11.4K 1,790 240 72 N/A (Muslim Post Girl) Clicks

FACEBOOK PUBLISH PEOPLE VIEWS LIKES SHARES TOP POST DATE REACHED AUDIENCE

Article about 29/11/2017 20.3K 1,442 205 32 N/A Catholics in Post Georgia Clicks

Article about 04/01/2018 3.1K 233 Post 6 4 N/A Pentecostals Clicks

Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI):

GDI’s project "Litigation for Equality" insures access to justice for women, girls, and representatives of ethnic and religious minorities who are victims of domestic violence or discrimination due to cultural or religious factors. The project provides consultations and legal representation for the target groups in Akhaltsikhe, Akhalkalaki, Ninotsminda and Adigeni municipalities in Samtskhe-Javakheti, and Khulo and Shuakhevi municipalities in Adjara.

GDI currently has three domestic violence cases, one case related to alimony/child support and one inheritance-related case. A GDI lawyer was successfully involved in the case of O.R., ethnic Armenian from Akhaltsikhe, who was abducted by the father of her children for the purpose of marriage and has been a victim of physical, psychological and sexual abuse for many years. Last year, when she left him, the “ex-husband” went to Oksana’s parents’ house, fired a pneumatic gun bullet in Oksana’s direction, and hit her head with the handle of the gun several times causing severe injuries. With the involvement of GDI lawyer, O.R. was recognized as a victim of domestic violence and she and the children were included in the state prevention program for seven months. On December 2, the Akhaltsikhe district Court held that the accused was guilty of domestic violence and sentenced him to two years imprisonment. It should be noted that parallel to the hearing on the case, the accused’s relatives were pressuring the victim to agree to a plea bargain and reconciliation with the abuser.

Another domestic violence case GDI is working on is T.M.’s case. She was forced to get married at 16 and suffered from physical and psychological abuse by her in-laws for several years. At the same time she was a victim of labor exploitation, her father-in-law forced her to work physically. All this drove T.M. to attempt suicide, but she was saved by her brother. GDI filed a complaint with the Adjara Prosecutor’s office and demanded an investigation into domestic violence. The investigation was started and the victim has been questioned. However, the Prosecutor's Office has thus far refused to recognize T.M as a victim.

GDI is working on a lawsuit with EHRAC to apply to the ECtHR on behalf of T.T., who has been a victim of physical, psychological and sexual abuse for several years from her partner G.B., a MIA official. There have been several investigations on the violence but they are soon suspended. After GDI got involved, its lawyer addressed the Office of the Personal Data Protection Inspector for allowing G.B. to repeatedly unlawfully process T.T’s personal data in the MIA central database. The claim has been admitted to Tbilisi City Court.

GDI started working on the case of L.Z., who has been a victim of physical, psychological and sexual abuse by her husband for years. With GDI’s assistance a protective order was

37 issued by the Akhaltsikhe District court for both L.Z. and her minor children, but the husband continues to violate the terms and frighten her. GDI also represents L.Z. in the investigation process and GDI expects L.Z. to be recognized as a victim.

Union Sapari

Sapari implements a two-year project “Complex Approach to Violence against Women and Girls.” The project prevents and combats violence against women and girls by addressing problems such as domestic violence and the violation of women’s property rights, and raises society’s awareness of the problem of female genital mutilation, using strategic litigation and awareness raising activities in Tbilisi and the Samegrelo and Kakheti regions. Sapari lawyers provided 64 legal consultations to victims of violence in Tbilisi and in several regions as well (Zugdidi, Tsalenjikha, Kutaisi, Batumi). It also provided psychological service to 12 female victims of sexual, physical and psychological violence. Currently, the organization has 38 ongoing cases. Most of the cases are related to assisting victims to obtain protective/restraining orders to ensure their safety.

During the reporting period Sapari successfully litigated two cases related to violence against women. As a result, protective orders were issued against harassers. In one of those cases, a woman and her daughter were victims of violence from her mother’s partner, who is a high- ranking official in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The harasser was systematically abusing her psychologically, sexually and physically, but the police did not issue a restraining order. With assistance of a Sapari lawyer, the case was successfully litigated in the Tbilisi City Court. The judge fully satisfied the claim of the applicant and issued a protective order for six months. Sapari’s third successful case related to imposition of alimony; the father was obliged to pay 200 GEL per month in child's allowance.

Partnership for Human Rights (PHR):

In FY2017, PHR started implementation of its 18-month project “Unlock the Untapped Potential of Georgian Law to Respond to Gender-based Discrimination and Violence.” It focuses on empowering women to oppose gender violence through targeting gender-based discrimination in social, medical, employment and other services in Tbilisi and Imereti region, and bringing strategic litigation cases to both common courts and the Constitutional Court.

The organization has several ongoing cases involving domestic violence and alimony. PHR is involved in one case where a victim was physically and psychologically abused by her husband. There was high risk of femicide and the police were informed immediately. The perpetrator was detained by police and the investigation is still ongoing. PHR represents the victim at the Prosecutor’s Office and police.

During the reporting period PHR representatives had several outreach activities on several TV shows about child abuse in schools and families, sexual violence against children, and gender factors and stereotypes that interfere with reporting crimes. Different journals published articles on cases PHR is working on.

PHR is actively involved in awareness raising activities. On November 30, PHR conducted a public lecture about femicide for students at the University of Georgia. They discussed all forms of domestic violence and gender based violence, the causal factors, the responsibility of state bodies in femicide cases, and shared cases from their practice. On October 17, PHR conducted a training for local non-governmental women organizations in Kvemo Kartli. On 38

December 24, PHR conducted a seminar for the women’s organization “Akhali Sakartvelo,” at which PHR discussed the regulation of domestic violence and the situation of women’s rights in Georgia. PHR prepared a short video spot, which was released on December 18. In the video, a school teacher talks about the role and importance of school administration in fighting against domestic violence.

Support Community Councils’ Project

During the current reporting period, a new cycle of regional meetings on topics involving human rights was launched. It was also agreed to decrease the number of meeting participants and have more in-depth discussions involving those representatives of regional communities who have expertise and interest in the issues to be discussed. In addition, given the tight schedule of the Government Administration’s Human Rights Secretariat and invited speakers, it was decided to optimize the outreach of the meetings and have (where possible) representatives of other regions attend informational meetings held outside their municipalities. As a result, representatives of seven municipalities (Gori, Akhaltsikhe, Rustavi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Batumi and Ozurgeti) attended four informational meetings held in Gori, Rustavi, Kutaisi and Batumi.

On October 31, the meeting was co-organized by Gori and Akhaltsikhe National Centers for Civic Engagement (NCCE). Secretariat Adviser Tornike Dvali and representative of the Foreign Affairs Ministry Giorgi Paniashvili discussed the importance of social rights in the Euro-Atlantic Integration Context with representatives of the Gori and Akhaltikhe communities. A total of 31 persons engaged in discussions on the social responsibility of a state, the inter-relation and inter-dependence of social and political rights, and realization of social rights, as well as different approaches and models of social rights in European countries.

On November 14, a meeting was organized by the Rustavi NCCE. Sophio Japharidze, Assistant to the Prime Minister on Human Rights and Gender Equality Issues, spoke about gender equality and domestic violence issues. She informed the meeting participants about the establishment and activities of the Interagency Council Implementing Measures to Eliminate Domestic Violence.

On November 21, the informational meeting was co-organized by the Kutaisi and Zugdidi NCCEs. During the meeting the Head of the Human Rights Secretariat, Natalia Jaliashvili, Advisers of the Secretariat Tornike Dvali and Anuki Burduli, as well as a representative of the Foreign Affairs Ministry Giorgi Paniashvili discussed social rights and the importance of the human rights based approach.

The last informational meeting during the reporting period was co-organized by the Batumi and Ozurgeti NCCEs on November 22. In addition, a public lecture on the importance of social rights in the Euro-Atlantic Integration Context was given at Batumi State University. A total of 59 persons attended the public lecture, all of which were youth representatives and 69% were female. Head of the Human Rights Secretariat Natalia Jaliashvili, Advisers of the Secretariat Tornike Dvali and Anuki Burduli as well as a representative of the Foreign Affairs Ministry Giorgi Paniashvili discussed the same topics that were on the agenda of the Gori meeting.

Within the reporting period a total of 182 persons participated in the NCCE meetings, of which 46% were youth representatives and 67% were women.

On December 7, the NCCE organized a presentation on the results of the “Improving Information Flow on Human Rights’ Issues between the Center and the Regions” project, which is a joint initiative with the Secretariat. At the meeting, participants and invited speakers stressed that these meetings served as information exchanges between the regions and the central government, helping central government representatives to capture local views, challenges, experiences and achievements. At the same time, the project activities increased the regional understanding of state reforms promoting the rule of law in general and human rights in particular. Given the strong interest of the regions towards human rights issues, it was agreed to identify new forms of cooperation and information exchange between the central government and local stakeholders.

Monitoring and Evaluation

4.3.5. Number of legal professionals benefitting from training on rights of marginalized groups provided with USG assistance (F Indicator):

Quarter: 18 (5 Male and 13 Female) Year 4 Target: 200 LOP Target: 750

B. Key Issues and Challenges

The challenge for PROLoG legal aid activities will be to assist grantees to conduct their activities before the conclusion of their projects and to identify strategic litigation cases appropriate to PROLoG purposes. In addition, PROLoG will assist and monitor the nationwide awareness raising grant implemented by TDI to raise public awareness about discrimination problems faced by religious and ethnic minorities and foreigners residing in Georgia and to empower representatives of minority groups. Another challenge for PROLoG will be to identify mentors/trainers who will lead the Constitutional Law mentoring program in cooperation with Ilia University’s Human Rights Clinic and develop an 18-month program with both training and mentorship opportunities. The purpose of the program is to mentor participants on how to prepare and submit cases to the Constitutional Court, including application procedures, grounding of the application, and drafting amicus curiae brief related to women, ethnic, religious and LGBTQ minority rights.

NCCE has encountered some challenges during the project implementation period, with the main challenge being the availability and engagement by high level officials and MPs in the regional visits, despite the efforts of the Secretariat to secure speakers for the visits. Due to these challenges, a new format to continue regional meetings will be developed and agreed upon between the NCCE and Human Rights Secretariat.

C. Plans for next quarter

The following activities are expected to take place during the next reporting period:

• Continue monitoring the implementation of legal aid grants, participate in the field visits of grantees; • Continue monitoring the implementation of the awareness raising grant; • Conduct thematic discussions with the involvement of partner legal aid grantees; • Work with Ilia University’s Human Rights Clinic to develop an 18-month mentoring program on Constitutional Court;

• Continue working with EHRAC to ensure effective communication with partner NGO’s on their ongoing cases; • Conduct a Working Group Meeting on the effectiveness and efficiency of the Community Council Meetings.

Annex 1: Success Stories

EWMI/PROLoG Supports Regional Conference on Independent Legal Aid

On September 28-29, with the support of EWMI/PROLoG, United Nations Development Programme and Open Society Georgia Foundation, the Legal Aid Service of Georgia (LAS) hosted a regional conference on “Challenges and Importance of Independent Legal Aid.” The Conference brought together members of the Legal Aid Reformers’ Network and leading international experts from Great Britain, Lithuania, Ukraine, Moldova, Sierra Leone and Georgia. The two-day event opened with welcome remarks from Georgian Parliament Chairperson Irakli Kobakhidze, Chief Justice Nino Gvenetadze, Director of LAS Meliton Benidze, Chairperson of Legal Aid Board Eka Popkhadze, and representatives of international donor organizations. “On behalf of the Parliament of Georgia, I confirm our commitment that the LAS will have the full support by the Parliament to ensure constant development of the resources and successful activity,” Irakli Kobakhidze, Parliament’s chairperson, stated at the Conference. Avrom Sherr, international expert and keynote speaker invited by EWMI/PROLoG, spoke about the importance of a peer review system as a tool for ensuring that quality service is rendered by the LAS lawyers. Experts from the six different countries shared their experience concerning effective models of legal aid system administration, global challenges in ensuring access to legal aid services for vulnerable groups, innovations and use of modern technologies, and discussed problems related to access to justice and legal aid. At the end of the presentations discussions were held in which participants expressed their views on key issues of interest.

EWMI/PROLoG Supports Regional Conference on Independent Legal Aid

Parliament’s Working Group on Judicial Reform Legislative Amendments Meets at Tbilisi City Court

On October 2, the third meeting of Parliament’s working group on Judicial Reform Legislative Amendments was held at Tbilisi City Court, a follow-up to two working group meetings that took place during the summer in Kobuleti. The working group was created by Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee to develop the amendments necessary to accomplish the priorities of the Judicial Strategy and the Action Plan for 2017-2018. The working group, chaired by Eka Beselia, Chairman of Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, consists of the members of the High Council of Justice (HCOJ), members of Parliament, the Minister of Justice, and representatives of donor organizations and other interested parties. The meeting was opened by Eka Beselia, Chairman of Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee and Laura Berger, USAID’s Acting Director of the Office of Democracy, Governance and Social Development. The meeting discussed the process of implementing the “Third Wave” judicial reform amendments and the activities carried out by the HCOJ since the Third Wave was adopted; grounds for judicial discipline and challenges in disciplinary proceedings; draft legislative amendments to reduce judicial workload; case flow in civil proceedings; and improvement of the HCOJ’s rules of operation. Special interest was paid to the discussion by Thea Tsulukiani, Minister of Justice, on the general concept for creation of Commercial Chambers to handle complex commercial disputes, and the comments by Giorgi Mikautadze, HCOJ Secretary, and Mikheil Chinchaladze, Chairman of Tbilisi Appellate Court, on possible ways to implement this initiative and the difficulties and risks the judiciary may face. The working group will renew its operation in late October with the support from USAID- EWMI/PROLoG and other donor organizations.

PROLoG Supports Establishment of Legal Ethics Chair at New Vision University

On September 28, the EWMI/PROLoG-supported Legal Ethics Chair at New Vision University, organized a presentation to the legal community. Ms.Sophie Chachava, the Legal Ethics Chair, and Mr. Irakli Kordzakhia, the Co-Chair, presented their new project, talked about the challenges in teaching legal ethics in Georgia, underlined the importance of ethics in the legal system, and introduced to the public the aim and the action plan of the Chair. The Chair will engage students in research and writing on legal ethics issues, organize moot court competitions, and develop a new model course on legal ethics that will be shared with all interested professors and universities across Georgia. All of the Chair’s activities will be directed towards improving the teaching of legal ethics and raising the awareness of legal ethics issues in Georgia. Professors from different universities, students, lawyers and GBA Legal Ethics Commission representatives attended the presentation, which was followed by a Q&A session. The large number of questions and comments from the audience demonstrated the interest of legal community in the subject as well as its importance.

The Legal Ethics Co-Chair, Irakli Kordzakhia, talks about lack of Georgian teaching materials on legal ethics

PROLoG-funded Gender and Law Chair Introduces Gender and Law Course to Academic Community

On September 29-30, the EWMI/PROLoG-supported Gender and Law Chair at Tbilisi State University (TSU), Ketevan Khutsishvili, organized a workshop to introduce the Gender and Law course to academia and practitioners in the field of gender and law. The workshop unified professors and practitioners from Tbilisi State University, David Agmashenebeli University, Georgian Technical University, Ilia State University, and Georgian American University (GAU). Alongside the academics were practitioners from the Office of the Public Defender and the Telavi Prosecutor’s Office, which are involved in awareness raising of violence against women. The workshop served the purpose of having a peer review of the content and structure of the course syllabus developed by the Gender and Law Chair. The structure and sequence of topics within the course were commented on by the participants, and particular attention was devoted to elements by which to grade students. All the participants agreed that the practical elements in the course were of high importance, and a number of practical elements (e.g. moot court, simulation, case briefs) were selected for inclusion in the Gender and Law syllabus. It was also agreed to cross-discipline the course, which will make it possible to involve other disciplines in teaching law students. The course will be taught at TSU and GAU starting in Spring 2018.

Law professors from different universities discuss the Gender and Law Course syllabus

PROLoG Supports Second Round of EHRAC Training

From September 26-28, under the EWMI/PROLoG-funded mentorship program for legal aid lawyers, the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC) Director Philip Leach and EHRAC lawyers Joanne Sawyer and Paul Harvey conducted a three-day training for NGO legal aid lawyers to strengthen their capacity to litigate strategically important cases at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The training took place at Ilia State University and focused on cases of discrimination. The experts and participants reviewed the draft applications of the cases they plan to submit to the ECtHR, which they prepared after the first EHRAC training held in June. They also discussed the practice and procedures of the ECtHR, and the application of articles of the European Code of Human Rights to discrimination cases. Topics such as interim measures (for example, temporary injunctions) and admissibility to the ECtHR were highlighted, and lawyers from each NGO made a presentation of their case. At the end of the training the experts gave the lawyers exercises to be prepared for the next training, which will take place in November.

Philiph Leach and EHRAC lawyers

EWMI/PROLoG’s Expert Completes Court Needs Assessment Visit

EWMI/PROLoG international expert Jesper Wittrup visited Georgia to consider the feasibility of a study to define the proper number of courts, judges and staff in Georgian courts. The expert will review the current distribution of courts, judges and court staff, and the method for allocating such resources. “Ensuring optimal number of courts, judges, court clerks and court officials and their reasonable workload” is one of the top priorities of the Judicial Strategy adopted in May 2017. According to the Judicial Strategy and Action Plan, a system of case volume assessment shall be developed that will enable the increasing or decreasing the number of judges in particular courts as needed, followed by implementation of an effective case distribution and management system to increase court productivity and more effectively use judicial resources. In order to review the current data and the practice of collecting data in courts, Mr. Wittrup met with Giorgi Mikautadze, Secretary of the High Council of Justice (HCOJ), Supreme Court judges, representatives of the HCOJ departments, the Chairmen of Tbilisi City and Rustavi City courts, representatives of the Department of Statistics, and other Georgian court personnel. The expert’s report on the feasibility of conducting a full study on assessing the distribution and allocation of judicial resources in Georgia, together with a recommended methodology for completing such a study, will be finalized later in October.

EWMI/PROLoG Supports Working Meeting of Supreme Court Judges on New Admissibility Criteria

On October 6-8, EWMI/PROLoG in cooperation with the EU4Justice Judicial Support Project organized a two-day working meeting for Supreme Court judges on human rights issues. In particular, the meeting concerned a new case admissibility criteria adopted after the so-called “Third Wave” of judicial reform that obligates the Supreme Court to assess appealed lower court judgments in terms of their consistency with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The two-day meeting was attended by seven Supreme Court judges. Chief Justice Nino Gvenetadze talked about the importance of adopting consistent approaches for the new admissibility criteria and refining Court’s practice in this regard, and two human rights experts, Besarion Bokhashvili and Levan Meskhoradze, facilitated the meeting. Together with judges, the experts discussed the ECtHR admissibility criteria relevant for the Georgian context using the example of ECHR Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life). They also discussed ECtHR decisions against Georgia and their implications for the Court’s practice.

Supreme Court judges discussing implication of ECtHR’s judgments against Georgia on domestic courts practice

Free University Submits Amicus Curiae to the Constitutional Court of Georgia

In the framework of its EWMI/PROLoG grant, Free University in cooperation with the Washburn University School of Law (WUSL) are working on amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs to be submitted to the Constitutional Court of Georgia. Through this effort, students at Free University and students from WUSL work together on different legal issues and hone their research and writing skills on pending cases at the Constitutional Court. This year, Free University identified two cases pending at the court for comparative research. One of the issues concerns a constitutional complaint challenging the constitutionality of articles in the Law on Public Procurement that create favorable conditions for the LLC “Georgian Post” with regards to postal and courier services, contrary to the constitutional principle of free enterprise and competition. Students at WUSL researched the issue of government imposed monopolies in U.S. Constitutional Law and court practice, while Georgian students supervised by a clinical professor overviewed European Union (EU) Directives, the country’s obligations under the EU Association Agreement, and the practice of EU Court of Justice. The amicus brief was submitted to the Constitutional Court in September. Free University and WUSL will submit another amicus brief to the Constitutional Court by late October.

EWMI/PROLoG Supports Third Workshop to Develop Company Law Course for Judges

EWMI/PROLoG, in cooperation with the High School of Justice and the German International Development Agency (GIZ), organized a third Training of Trainers workshop for selected Georgian judges on Corporate Law and Governance in Georgia and the EU. Like the previous workshops in May and June, the October 14-15 training included presentations, case studies, discussions and exercises that guided the “judge trainers” on the most important company law issues, such as formation and financial structure of companies, managers’ and shareholders’ rights and duties, European principles of capital maintenance, and the specific problems of closed corporations. The event marked the final stage of the Training of Trainer process. The next step will be for the judge-trainers to conduct three pilot trainings for their fellow judges, which will be organized by the end of this year. Under the EU-Georgia Association Agreement, within the next three to five years Georgia must implement several EU company law directives. In 2016, the Georgian Government started the implementation process and with donor support, including from PROLoG, developed a draft Company Law that is currently being prepared for submission to the Parliament. After the adoption of the new Company Law, Georgian courts will have to apply new legal concepts and interpret the law in accordance with the EU directives. The trainers trained through the EWMI/PROLoG and GIZ workshops will help prepare Georgia’s judges for these new and increased responsibilities.

Professor Lasha Tsertsvadze and Supreme Court judge Nino Bakakuri presenting financial structure of companies to judge trainers

HRC Organizes Meeting with Beneficiaries of the Georgian Adults Education Network in Kakheti

Under the USAID funded EWMI-PROLoG legal aid grant “Promote Access to Justice for Women, Religious and Ethnic minorities in the regions of Georgia” on October 6, representatives of the Human Rights Center Tbilisi and Gurjaani offices met beneficiaries of the Leliani village Adults Education Center in Lagodekhi municipality. The Leliani center is member of the network of the Georgian Adults Education Network (GAEN), which aims to popularize the principles of adult education and raise public awareness about topics such as gender equality, domestic violence and early marriage. The purpose of the field visit was to raise the awareness of the women in Leliani about issues such as early marriage, domestic violence, gender equality, property rights of women, and women’s participation in the decision-making process at the local and regional levels. Fourteen women participated in the meeting. During the meeting, HRC’s senior lawyers spoke about the legal mechanisms that can assist women to protect themselves from harasser husbands, former husbands or partners. The lawyers also discussed the procedures the women need to follow in cases of divorce to obtain alimony for their underage children. Gurjaani office lawyer Lia Khuroshvili discussed early marriage, which is a common problem in the Georgian and non-Georgian communities in Kakheti. The meeting participants spoke about the problems they encounter with different state and non-state institutions because of gender. The women also revealed that they did not know that underage marriage can result in criminal liability as a result of the May 2017 amendments to Article 140 of the Criminal Code, which impose criminal liability if a person has intercourse with the person younger than 16. At the end of the meeting, the HRC representatives handed out booklets with information about the project activities and the services HRC’s lawyers can provide in the Kakheti office.

HRC lawyers discussing women’s rights

EWMI/PROLoG Supports Training on Regulatory Impact Assessment for NGOs

On October 16, in the framework of its USAID-funded EWMI/PROLoG grant, Free University conducted an introductory training on Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) for NGO representatives. A RIA is a systemic approach to critically assess the positive and negative effects of existing and/or proposed regulations and possible alternatives. The training was conducted by a lawyer, Dimitri Dzagnidze, and an economist, Lali Ghoghoberidze, who explained the essence and purposes of RIA, relevant methodologies, and international experiences. At the next stage, Free University plans to organize more in- depth training on RIAs where practical examples will be provided on how to conduct RIA on concrete legislative proposals and existing regulations. The training was attended by 14 NGO representatives who are members of Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary.

Participants filling in a questionnaire on RIA

EWMI/PROLoG Supports Mediation Awareness Project

USAID funded EWMI/PROLoG supported the National Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution (NCADR) at Tbilisi State University to promote and popularize mediation via educational and awareness rising activities that target lawyers, students, professors and local communities in the regions of Georgia. Between June and October 2017, NCADR conducted six trainings on representing clients in mediation for lawyers in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, Zugdidi, Telavi and Akhaltsikhe. NCADR also conducted public lectures on mediation at local universities, attracting more than 100 lawyers and 150 stakeholders. During the lectures, NCADR experts discussed the advantages of mediation, its regulation, and factors resulting in successful representation in mediation. Among other activities, NCADR will also support Akaki Tsereteli State University (ATSU) in Kutaisi in development of a university-level mediation course, as well as the founding of a mediation clinic and its incorporation in ATSU’s legal clinics program.

Workshop for law professors at Akaki Tsereteli State University

PROLoG supports Parliament's Work in the Area of Gender Equality

On October 24, the first findings of the study “Gender Equality in Georgia: Barriers and Recommendations,” supported by USAID-funded EWMI-PROLoG and the UN Joint Programme for Gender Equality, were presented at a meeting of Parliament’s Gender Equality Council. The study identifies legislative and policy shortcomings in a number of fields: political participation, economic empowerment, violence against women, labor relations, health, education, peace and security, sports and culture, as well as the cross- thematic Gender Equality and Anti-discrimination laws. The study will help the Council identify, prioritize and initiate the reforms needed to fulfill Georgia’s international obligations and received recommendations. Presentation of the final study to a wider audience is planned by the end of the year. “The study covers almost every aspect of gender equality. Accordingly, this action plan will be baseline for the national strategy and action plans of Gender Equality Council for the coming years.” –Tamar Chugoshvili, the First Deputy Chairperson of Parliament, stated at the meeting. At the meeting the Council also presented a package of recommendations, put together with PROLoG’s support, aimed at ensuring equality in labor relations. PROLoG plans to further support the process by assisting the Council to draft legislative changes to the Labor Law and Gender Equality Law. This support is in line with PROLoG’s effort to strengthen gender equality and the respective regulatory framework.

Gender Equality Council meeting

PROLoG supported Legal Ethics Chair organizes public lecture on Legal Ethics

On October 28, the USAID/PROLoG-supported Legal Ethics Chair organized a public lecture and discussion on “Challenges of Legal Ethics in Georgia” at New Vision University. The lecture was conducted by legal ethics experts Ana Loria and Irakli Kordzakhia, who spoke on topics such as: a) the conflict of interest between lawyers, judges and prosecutors; b) the scope of application of the Ethics Code; and c) attorney fee regulation. Lawyers, students, New Vision lecturers and representatives of other universities attended the event and were actively involved in the discussion that followed the lecture. Actual cases handled by the Georgian Bar Association’s Ethics Commission were also discussed and were of special interest to the audience.

Legal ethics expert Ana Loria speaks on the scope of application of the Ethics Code

EWMI/PROLoG Supports Public Discussion on Judicial Authority vs. Freedom of Expression

On October 25, in the framework of its USAID-funded EWMI/PROLoG grant, National Institute for Human Rights at Free University Tbilisi organized a public discussion on the topic of “Judicial Authority vs. Freedom of Expression.” Speakers of the discussion were Eva Gotsiridze, former member of the High Council of Justice and Giorgi Beraia, Head of Rule of Law Direction at Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI). During the discussion Eva Gotsiridze talked about the need to protect judicial authority by creating additional legislative safeguards, while Giorgi Beraia highlighted the risks it poses on restricting freedom of expression. Speakers presented their arguments, talked about international experience and discussed existing challenges in Georgia regarding this issue.

Giorgi Beraia questioning the need for additional legislative restrictions on criticism against judges

EWMI/PROLoG Supports Academic Conference on 2017 Constitutional Reform

On November 3, in the framework of its USAID-funded EWMI/PROLoG grant, National Institute for Human Rights at Free University Tbilisi organized an Academic Conference on 2017 Constitutional Reform in Georgia. The Conference addressed controversial issues that created the most fundamental disagreements among society. Topics included new constitutional regulations of judiciary and constitutional judicial review, amended human rights chapter of the Constitution as well as electoral system, the role of the Parliament and the balance of powers. Among the panelists of the Conference were former judges of the Constitutional Court, Konstantine Vardzelashvili and Ketevan Eremadze, Anna Dolidze – the Parliamentary Secretary of the President, Nazi Janezashvili - member of the High Council of Justice, as well as members of the Constitutional Commission Vakhushti Menabde and Vakhtang Khmaladze. More than 70 participants attended the Conference, students and law professors from various universities, acting judges of the Constitutional Court and others. The audience actively engaged in discussions regarding problematic provisions of the amended Constitution and their practical implications.

Giorgi Chkheidze, EWMI/PROLoG Chief of Party talking about USAID/PROLoG’s input in the process of Constitutional Reform

TDI Launches the Multimedia Platform – Images of Diversity

On November 17, 2017 under the USAID funded EWMI/PROLoG awareness raising grant “Promoting Diversity Enhancing Dialogue and Empowering Minorities and Women” Tolerance and Diversity Institute (TDI) organized presentation of the project and launch of the multimedia platform Images of Diversity. The project aims to raise public awareness about discrimination problems faced by religious and ethnic minorities and foreigners residing in Georgia and to empower representatives of minority groups. The multimedia platform tells stories about religious and ethnic diversity of Georgia, introduces interesting people and offers a journey in various regions of Georgia. During the launch TDI showed two mini-documentary videos, Hurie and the Bible in Sign Language. Videos tell the stories of Muslim girl, Hurie, from highland Adjara and Jehovah's Witnesses who learn the Bible in sign language. The screenings were followed by the discussion with participation of video protagonists and the audience interested in the minority representative life conditions.

TDI launches multimedia platform

PROLoG Supported Human Rights Chair at Ilia State University School of Law Hosted a Socratic Discussion on Negative Stereotypes and Prejudice against Women in Media

On November 24, Ilia State University School of Law in cooperation with USAID Promoting Rule of Law in Georgia (PROLoG) Activity joined the sixteen days of international campaign against gender based violence and held the Socratic Discussion with Tamar Gurchiani, Associate professor and PROLoG supported Human Rights Chair at Ilia State University School of Law, Tamar Kintsurashvili, Director of Media development Foundation, Nata Dzvelishvili, Executive Director of Journalistic Ethics Charter and students of Public Law and Policy Program at Ilia State University School of Law: Gvantsa Khonelidze, Mariam Lelashvili and Tamar Kapanadze. Students and speakers addressed following questions: How to combat upholding sexism, negative stereotypes and prejudice against women in media? How self-regulatory bodies function, can day protect the principle of equality? What are the major decisions of those bodies as well as Journalistic Ethics Charter? How to maintain balance between the freedom of speech and expression and promoting gender equality? 13 students attended the public discussion.

Ilia State University Student giving comment on Journalistic Ethics Charter

PROLoG supported Fifth National Competition in Commercial Mediation

On November 23-26, Tbilisi State University National Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution (NCADR) through Mediation awareness program being implemented with USAID/PROLoG support organized Mediation representation Workshop and 5th National Competition on Representation in Commercial Mediation. Eight student teams from Tbilisi Open University, Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi Teaching University, New Vision University, Kutaisi Akaki Tsereteli State University, Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University, Samthkhe-Javakheti State University and united team of TSU and Tbilisi teaching University participated in the workshop and the competition. The workshop was conducted by court mediator, Aleksandre Tsuladze and executive director of NCADR, Natia Chitashvili. 22 judges and 6 mediators served as volunteers representing Tbilisi City Court Mediation Center, ADR providers, arbitration institutions, Georgian Association of Mediators, higher educational institutions, Supreme Court of Georgia, Association of Georgian Court mediators and law firms. Tbilisi State University team “Peacemakers” were awarded the first place in final round, while New Vision University team was a runner-up. The third place was given to the regional team from Samtskhe-Javakheti State University, and Tbilisi Teaching University got the 4th place. 32 students benefitted from the workshop and competition experience by raising their knowledge in Mediation and improving their lawyering skills.

The winner team from TSU awarded with a trophy

PROLoG Supports Second Round of EHRAC Training

During Nov 28-30, under the USAID-PROLoG-funded mentorship program for legal aid lawyers, the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC) representatives conducted three-day training for NGO legal aid lawyers to strengthen their capacity to litigate strategically important cases at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The training took place at Holiday Inn Tbilisi and focused on review of witness statements. This was the third round of the mentorship program, participants presented the VAW cases they were assigned to during the last training, had long discussions about facts and consultations about the relevant legal remedies to be applied to each case. The important part of the training this time was given to the individual legal clinic work for each NGO as all of the involved organizations have cases they want to submit to ECHR and are in need of legal expertise from EHRAC representatives. At the end of the training the experts gave the lawyers exercises to be prepared for the next training, which will take place in June.

EHRAC experts making presentations

PROLoG Supported Human Rights Chair at Ilia State University School of Law Hosted a Socratic Discussion on Gender Discrimination According to the Public Defender’s Report

On November 27, Ilia State University School of Law in cooperation with USAID Promoting Rule of Law in Georgia (PROLoG) Activity and University of Georgia joined the sixteen days of international campaign against gender based violence and held the Socratic Discussion with Tamar Gurchiani (Associate professor and PROLoG supported Human Rights Chair at Ilia State University School of Law), Ekaterine Skhiladze, Deputy Public Defender, students of Public Law and Policy Program at Ilia State University School of Law: Giorgi Ckhoberia, Tamar Baramashvili and the student of school of law at University of Georgia, Ana Latsabidze. Students and speakers discussed the latest reports by the Public Defender, with the particular emphasis on gender discrimination. They also addressed following questions: What leverage the Public Defender has in the private sector? Majority of the recommendations are left unanswered, how the parliament of Georgia should address that issue? What are the novelties regarding this institution in the new Constitution? How are gender discrimination cases adjudicated in European countries?

Deputy Public Defender, Ms. Ekaterine Skhiladze speaks on gender discrimination

EWMI/PROLoG Supports Student Moot Court Competition in Human Rights Law

On November 18-19, in the framework of its USAID-funded EWMI/PROLoG grant, National Institute for Human Rights at Free University Tbilisi organized second National Moot Court Competition in Human Rights for students. The subject of the Competition was Hate speech and Holocaust denial. Students represented applicant and respondent before the Constitutional Court of Georgia. 53 student teams registered for the competition and after submission of written memorials, 8 teams with the highest scores were selected to participate in the oral rounds that took place at the Supreme Court of Georgia. Teams from Tbilisi State University (TSU) and Free University Tbilisi competed in the finals, leaving TSU team as a winner. Participants of the competition received certificates and prizes, while members of the winning team will undergo internship at the Constitutional Court of Georgian and NGO “Georgian Democracy Initiative.”

Students participate in the Human Rights Moot Court Competition

EWMI/PROLoG Supports Family Mediation Training

On November 27-29 through its USAID-funded EWMI/PROLoG “Mediation Awareness Program” grant, National Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution (NCADR) at Tbilisi State University organized three-day certification training in family mediation for lawyers and other interested professionals. NCADR experts Giorgi Tsertsvadze, Sopio Chachava and Natia Chitashvili conducted the training. Training focused on advantages of mediation and explored specificities of family dispute mediations. 27 participants acquired knowledge and necessary skills on how to guide their clients/parties towards consensual resolution of such complex matters as financial disputes during divorce, custody issues, etc. Training offered a combination of lectures, practical exercises and role plays as well as communication strategy exercises and coaching elements to help participants better practice in mediation.

Participants practice conducting family mediation session during role plays

Parliamentary Judicial Reform Working Group Meets in Borjomi to Discuss Judicial Reform Related Legislative Amendments

On December 3-4, the Parliamentary Judicial Reform Working group held its fourth meeting in Borjomi. During the two-day meeting, the special Judicial Reform Working Group that unites HCOJ members, judges, members of the Parliament, and representatives of the Ministry of Justice, discussed a package of draft legislative amendments that addresses an issue of heavy caseload of courts and grounds for disciplinary liability of judges. The high ranking officials from all three branches of the Government, and representatives of the USAID, U.S. Embassy, and Department of Justice, CoE, EU Delegation and GIZ attended the meeting. Irakli Kobakhidze, the Speaker of the Parliament, Nino Gvenetadze, the Chief Justice and HCOJ Chair, Giorgi Mikhautadze a the Secretary of the HCOJ, Aleksandre Baramidze, the First Deputy Minister of Justice, Laura Berger, USAID’s Acting Director of the Office of Democracy, Governance and Social Development, Peter Danis, Programme Manager at EU Delegation in Georgia and Christian Urse, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia addressed the meeting with opening remarks. The first day of workshop focused on draft legislative amendments to address the backlog of cases and to improve efficiency in the handling of certain cases at both the first Instance and appellate court levels. The second day involved review of materials gathered from multiple sources regarding grounds for establishing judicial misconduct. Both sessions were led by Eka Beselia, Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament. From USAID-PROLoG side, Judge (rtd.) Timothy Baland, U.S. expert, shared his knowledge and made recommendations on issues that were considered during the workshop based on American laws, rules and best practices.

EWMI/PROLoG Supports Pilot Trainings for Judges in Company Law

USAID-funded EWMI/PROLoG, in cooperation with the High School of Justice (HSOJ) and the German International Development Agency (GIZ), organized three trainings on Corporate Law and Governance in Georgia and the EU in October, November and December 2017. The purpose of the trainings, led by judge-trainers, was to pilot a course that had been developed with the support of international and local experts retained by PROLoG and GIZ. This three-part pilot training program was the final stage in the development of the course. In the first stage, PROLoG and GIZ supported the development of the Company Law course and the initial training of judges on the course. In the second stage, earlier this year PROLoG and GIZ selected future judge-trainers and had the international and local experts who developed the course provide a Training of Trainers program to those judges. In this final stage, the judge-trainers served as trainers for the first time, piloting the Company Law course with their fellow judges. Around twenty judges from various courts of Georgia participated in the trainings. The course on EU-Georgia Company Law will be part of the HSOJ curriculum.

Pilot trainings for judges in Company Law

EWMI/PROLoG Supports Improvement of Information Flow on Human Rights’ Issues in the Regions

On December 7, in the framework of its USAID-funded EWMI/PROLoG grant, the Network of Centers for Civic Engagement (NCCE) organized a presentation on the results of the “Improving Information Flow on Human Rights’ Issues between the Center and the Regions“ project, which is a joint initiative with the Human Rights Secretariat of the Administration of the Government of Georgia (the Secretariat). The project supports the Secretariat to disseminate information in the regions on approaches, strategy and developments in the human rights protection area, with particular emphasis on the Human Rights National Strategy and Action Plan. Starting in February 2017, the NCCE initiated, organized and conducted 15 informational meetings, discussions, interviews and TV programs in the regions with the participation of representatives of the Secretariat, Parliament and Government, as well as local actors. The discussions addressed issues reflected in the Human Rights Strategy and Action Plan and were tailored to local needs, which were established in advance by the NCCE through a survey of local stakeholders. As the meeting participants and invited speakers stressed that these meetings served as information exchanges between the regions and the central government, helping central government representatives to capture local views, challenges, experiences and achievements. At the same time, the project activities increased the regional understanding of state reforms promoting the rule of law in general and human rights in particular. Given the strong interest of the regions towards human rights issues, it was agreed to identify new forms of cooperation and information exchange between the central government and local stakeholders.

From left to right: Nino Zhvania, Executive Director, NCCE; Giorgi Chkheidze, Chief of Party, USAID/PROLoG; Natalia Jaliashvili, Head of the Human Rights Secretariat of the Administration of Government of Georgia; Laura Berger, Acting Director, Democracy, Governance and Social Development Office, USAID

EWMI/PROLoG Supports Training for Lawyers in Client Counseling

On December 2, under the framework of its USAID-funded EWMI/PROLoG grant, Free University Tbilisi conducted a training for lawyers on client counseling. The training was conducted by two experienced lawyers, Sandro Bibilashvili and Lika Kvantaliani, who highlighted the importance of the first interview with the client, overviewed different methods of conducting the first interview, and discussed the structure of the interview. The trainers also stressed professional ethics issues, such as conflicts of interest, confidentiality and remuneration. The second half of the training was devoted to simulated interviews, where participants used the knowledge acquired at the training in a simulated client counseling session. The training was attended by 25 lawyers, who received certificates and continuous legal education credits from the Georgian Bar Association.

Sandro Bibilashvili and Lika Kvantaliani providing training on client counseling and supervising simulated sessions

EWMI/PROLoG Supports Public Lectures on Human Rights Issues at Free University

On November 29, under the framework of its USAID-funded EWMI/PROLoG grant, the National Institute for Human Rights at Free University Tbilisi conducted its second public lecture on human rights issues. The topic of the lecture was the challenges of Georgia’s drug policies and a draft legislative bill to reform those policies. The speakers at the public lecture were representatives of the members of the “Georgian National Drug Policy Platform,” the initiator of the legislative bill: Guram Imnadze (Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center), David Subeliani (White Noise Movement), and David Otiashvili (Alternative Georgia). The speakers reviewed the major highlights of the draft bill, the changes it proposes to introduce in the criminal law, as well as the public health dimensions of the drug problem. David Subeliani talked about the process of initiating the bill and the negotiations with major decision makers at Parliament and in the government, and David Otiashvili overviewed the trends of drug use in Georgia, the public health problems that the existing legislation is fueling, and the solutions this draft bill proposes. The public lecture was attended by students, who actively engaged in discussions with the speakers.

Guram Imnadze (EMC) talking about the legislative bill

EWMI/PROLoG Supports Annual University Human Rights Law Week

From December 4-11, under the framework of its USAID-funded EWMI/PROLoG grant, Free University Tbilisi and six other leading Georgian law schools organized Human Rights Law Week. Human Rights Law Week is an annual event celebrating December 10 as Human Right Day and discussing domestic and international human rights issues relevant to the legal community in Georgia. The main goal of Human Rights Law Week is to raise awareness of human rights issues among university students and other young Georgians, as well as instigate more active academic discussion on these topics. During the week, the participating schools delivered a series of lectures and public discussions on different human rights topics, including sessions dedicated to the 2017 constitutional reform in Georgia, the presentation of research on the prohibition of entrapment under the European Convention on Human Rights, and a shadow report submitted to the United Nation’s Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Professor Bridget Arimond, from PROLoG partner Northwestern University (USA), participated in several discussions focusing on the legislative regulation of sexual harassment and the role of university law clinics in the protection of human rights. Human Rights Law Week also included a presentation of Anna Dolidze’s Academic Writing Manual and many more interesting events. The Human Rights Law Week closing ceremony took place at the Supreme Court of Georgia, where an award was given to the human rights activist selected by the universities as having made a special contribution to protecting human rights during 2017. The recipient was Ana Natsvlishvili, former chairman of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association.

Annual University Human Rights Law Week

TDI Screens Videos Presenting “Images of Diversity” in Tsnori

On December 11, under the USAID-funded EWMI/PROLoG awareness raising grant “Promoting Diversity Enhancing Dialogue and Empowering Minorities and Women,” the Tolerance and Diversity Institute (TDI) held a screening in Tsnori, Kakheti region, of three videos that highlight and support religious and ethnic diversity in Georgia. One video tells the story of a Muslim girl, Hurie Abashidze, from highland Adjara who studies psychology (Master’s Degree) at Ilia State University after completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Turkey. Hurie started wearing a hijab in Turkey voluntarily, without coercion or anybody’s instruction. She wants to continue wearing a hijab as a sign of her religious identity, and also fights for the education of young Muslim girls. A second video tells of Jehovah's Witnesses who learn the Bible in sign language, an inclusive approach towards communicating with parishioners with special needs. The video also focuses on the discrimination encountered in the daily life of Jehovah's Witnesses, and works to counter that discrimination by raising awareness of positive activities by Jehovah's Witnesses. The third tells the story of a Polish Catholic priest who has been living in Samtskhe for three years, learned Georgian, and now preaches to his congregation in Georgian. The videos are part of TDI’s “Images of Diversity,” which are posted over time at TDI Facebook Images of Diversity. Around 25 public school students from Tsnori attended the event. The screenings were followed by a discussion between the students, Hurie Abashidze (the Muslim girl featured in the first video), and the director, Beso Gvenetadze.

Students watching videos

USAID/PROLoG Supports Annual Commercial Law Moot Court Competition for Students

On December 23-24, under the framework of its USAID-funded EWMI/PROLoG grant, Free University Tbilisi organized 2017 Commercial Law Moot Court Competition for students. This competition is held for the sixth time by Free University and is a good opportunity for students to advance their theoretical knowledge in complex issues of commercial law as well as perfect their skills of written argumentation and oral presentation. 22 student teams registered for the competition and after submission of written memorials, 8 teams with the highest scores were selected to participate in the oral rounds that took place at the Supreme Court of Georgia. Teams from Tbilisi State University, Free University Tbilisi, Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, Caucasus University and one team from regional university – Kutaisi Akaki Tsereteli State University participated in the oral rounds of the competition. Free University Tbilisi and Caucasus University teams competed in the finals, leaving Free University team as a winner. Participants of the competition received certificates and prizes.

Participating teams and judges at the Commercial Law Moot Court Competition