Criminal Law Reform and Anti-Human Trafficking

In Georgia, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) trains legal aid attorneys and private criminal defense attorneys on the country’s October 2010 Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), helping them better represent and defend their clients. The code introduced jury trials and marked a transition to an adversarial system of justice. ABA ROLI conducts extensive CPC trainings for attorneys to support the transition. We also conduct trial advocacy skills and forensic evidence trainings to enhance attorneys’ knowledge of forensic science and their ability to select, present and cross-examine witnesses.

As part of an ongoing criminal law reform program, from early 2010 to June 2011, ABA ROLI:

• trained more than 1,600 of the roughly 3,000 Georgian defense attorneys on the Criminal Procedure Code, which was adopted in October 2010, supporting preparations for Georgia’s transition to the adversarial system
• worked with the Georgian judiciary to develop a jury trial bench book, which will serve as a guide for the country’s judges
• conducted more than 35 multi-day trial advocacy skills trainings—covering jury selection, opening statements, direct examination, cross examination, witness impeachment, objections and closing arguments—for more than 900 attorneys, and
• conducted more than 70 mock jury trials, providing more than 900 legal professionals a forum to practice new skills and allowing more than 200 law students to observe them.

Legal Profession Reform

The ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) works to strengthen the capacity of Georgian legal professionals and institutions to uphold the right to due process and to increase access to justice within the new adversarial system. ABA ROLI’s legal profession reform initiatives include:

Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) trainings: To ensure sustainability of the CPC trainings, ABA ROLI prepared a cadre of local attorneys to train their peers. ABA ROLI conducted a four-day training of trainers in July 2010. The 20 trainers who took part in this training have in turn trained more than 1,600 criminal defense attorneys around the country. The trainings equip defense attorneys with the knowledge and skills they need to competently represent their clients.

Trial advocacy skills trainings: Georgia has about 3,000 criminal defense attorneys and ABA ROLI has trained more than 1,500 of them in Trial Advocacy Skills. The trainings, each of which culminates in mock trials, allow participants to practice key skills and improve Georgian defense attorneys’ ability to provide quality legal representation.

Forensic skills trainings: These trainings cover all aspects of the introduction of forensic evidence in jury trials, in line with Georgia’s 2010 CPC. To make these trainings sustainable, ABA ROLI trained 20 Georgian defense attorneys—10 from the capital, Tbilisi, and 10 from the regions—to become trainers. By the end of the current program, ABA ROLI will have trained more than 700 defense attorneys. Trainees learn how to use expert-witness testimony, including on such essential evidentiary matters as DNA analysis, fingerprints, firearms identification and ballistics, arson and explosives, insanity and mental illness defenses, traffic accident investigation and crime scene investigation procedure. The trainings are enhanced with hands-on experience in courtroom simulation, as well as with a comprehensive forensics manual, which covers the content of the trainings in more depth. Available in Georgian, the manual is an important resource the trainees use as a reference in their daily practice.

Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity

The ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) supported anti-corruption efforts and promoted the ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). ABA ROLI also assisted the Georgian government in implementing a national anti-corruption strategy and anti-corruption action plan, adopted in June 2005 and March 2006, respectively.

ABA ROLI led a team of experts that prepared a comprehensive treatise on harmonizing domestic legislation with the provisions of UNCAC, a prerequisite for ratification. Following Georgia’s ratification of the UNCAC in 2008, ABA ROLI helped educate the public about the May 2008 parliamentary elections and trained more than 100 lawyers in preparation for anticipated election-related complaints.

Judicial Reform

The ABA Rule of Law Initiative’s (ABA ROLI’s) judicial reform activities in Georgia focused on helping the judiciary become an independent, respected and capable branch of government by supporting its reform process and by empowering judges. ABA ROLI worked closely with key international stakeholders and local partners to advance judicial ethics, strengthen judicial decision-making, improve judicial perception and launch a case management system with the Ministry of Justice’s Enforcement Department. Our judicial reform efforts include:

Conducting judicial education: ABA ROLI helped the Georgian judiciary reform its code of conduct to reflect international standards. ABA ROLI also provided ethics trainings to about 100 judges, distributed 500 copies of a judicial ethics guidebook, and created and distributed 500 copies of a catalogue of 2,500 Supreme Court decisions to increase consistency in judicial decision-making.

Supporting the Judges of Georgia: In 1998, ABA ROLI helped establish the Judges of Georgia—the first professional association for Georgian judges. With ABA ROLI support, the association has since held a televised discussion on the importance of judicial reform, advocated for wrongly disciplined judges and published a law journal, Justice and Law, distributing nine issues to more than 1,000 judges, lawyers, government agencies, and local and international non-governmental organizations.

Supporting a judicial qualification exam: In 2005, ABA ROLI helped introduce a judicial qualification exam in Georgia. To ensure sustainability, in 2006, the High Council of Justice (HCOJ) took over the administration of the exam. ABA ROLI also worked to improve judicial selection and disciplinary procedures by organizing a conference for 50 Georgian judges and by translating and distributing related American guidebooks. Additionally, ABA ROLI experts observed the HCOJ’s interviewing procedures for judicial candidates and made recommendations for improvement.

Enforcing judgments: ABA ROLI worked with the Georgian government to reform the Law on Enforcement Proceedings. In line with the law’s provisions, ABA ROLI created a case management system (CMS) to effectively track the enforcement of judgments. We also facilitated the use of the CMS by training enforcement officials and equipping Georgia’s Enforcement Department with needed technological supplies.

Improving public perception of judges: To improve public perception of the judiciary and to foster a positive relationship between the judiciary and the media, ABA ROLI created and distributed 500 copies of a media guide to judges. ABA ROLI also worked to increase public awareness of judges’ ethical obligations and vocational duties. ABA ROLI publicized the revised Judicial Code of Conduct by placing 100 posters in courtrooms and 2,000 informational brochures.

Women’s Rights

The ABA Rule of Law Initiative’s (ABA ROLI’s) Women’s Rights Program (2006–2009) provided vital financial assistance to two important and impactful women’s rights non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) and the Centre for the Protection of Constitutional Rights (CPCR). ABA ROLI worked with these organizations in raising public awareness of the 2006 domestic violence law and the protective mechanisms it provides, consulting nearly 7,200 women on gender-related legal issues and galvanizing governmental agencies and local and international NGOs to pass and begin the effective implementation of Georgia’s first domestic violence law. Our women’s rights initiatives included:

Drafting a domestic violence action plan: When Georgia’s anti-domestic violence law passed in June 2006, ABA ROLI and GYLA helped the government draft an action plan to combat domestic violence. The action plan had important provisions, including the provision for victims’ shelters and social workers to manage domestic violence cases. On July 30, 2007 the Georgian government approved the action plan.

Amending the domestic violence law: In 2009, ABA ROLI collaborated with the United Nations Development Fund for Women to create a working group of judges, lawyers, prosecutors, patrol policemen and NGO representatives to draft amendments to the domestic violence law to decrease the age of the potential abuser to 16 and to emphasize the call for the creation of a shelter for victims. The amendments were submitted to the government in December 2009 and were signed into law in January 2010.

Conducting a domestic violence survey: To document the extent of domestic violence in Georgia, ABA ROLI conducted a nationwide survey and found that domestic violence was often silently sustained because of a cultural inclination toward family privacy and victims’ fear of adverse public reactions.

Producing a domestic violence manual: ABA ROLI’s subgrantee GYLA created a domestic violence manual, presenting a detailed explanation of the Georgian domestic violence law and its procedural mechanisms of protection. The manual also included hypothetical cases, providing sample recommendations for police, lawyers, social agencies and others on how to effectively deal with domestic violence cases.

Conducting a public awareness campaign: Public awareness of domestic violence as a problem is a crucial first step toward improving protections and services for women. ABA ROLI’s subgrant to GYLA supported GYLA’s efforts to teach citizens about the 2006 domestic violence law. GYLA aired a public service announcement it developed with ABA ROLI’s support to publicize the problem of domestic violence and to encourage women to seek help. GYLA designed and published informational leaflets describing the protections in the law, including protective and restrictive orders. More than 6,000 copies of the leaflets were distributed across the country.

Providing legal aid to survivors: With ABA ROLI support, GYLA and the CPCR provided free legal assistance in the form of in-person and hotline consultations to more than 7,200 domestic violence survivors. The legal advice sought and provided centered on family law (divorce), but also encompassed labor law and criminal prosecution.