The 128th branch of the Public Service Hall has opened in Chala, a village in Sachkhere Municipality. Residents of Chala will now be able to access more than 600 public and private-sector services in a modern building, with the high standards of service for which Public Service Halls are known.

The new branch was officially opened by Minister of Justice Paata Salia, Member of Parliament Paata Kvizhinadze, State Representative in the Imereti Region Levan Zalkaliani, Deputy Minister of Justice Lana Morgoshia, and Chairman of the Public Service Hall Vakhtang Jvania.

The Chala Public Service Hall is staffed entirely by local personnel. To ensure the best possible accessibility, its facilities have been designed to meet the needs of persons with disabilities and comply with the relevant accessibility standards.

There are currently 28 Public Service Hall branches operating in the Imereti Region, serving an average of more than 600,000 customers annually. To improve access to services for residents of highland and remote villages, three Mobile Public Service Halls also operate in Imereti, serving nearly 10,000 people across 74 villages.

Earlier this year, a new Public Service Hall branch also opened in Khelvachauri, Adjara, while another branch is scheduled to open in the city of Mtskheta by the end of the year. Construction is also progressing actively in Tsalenjikha as part of the Public Service Hall’s ongoing infrastructure development program.

Across Georgia, Public Service Hall branches and Mobile Public Service Halls serve nearly six million customers annually, while the Public Service Hall’s call center provides consultations to more than one million people each year.

Representatives of the legislative and executive branches of government, along with other invited guests, attended the opening ceremony of the Chala Public Service Hall.

Georgia’s Minister of Justice, Paata Salia, met with Croatia’s Minister of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation, Damir Habijan, on the sidelines of the OECD Global Forum in Istanbul.

The discussions focused on the importance of digital transformation and harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency and accessibility of justice systems and strengthen the rule of law.

The meeting highlighted the effective cooperation between the justice ministries of the two countries in areas including the rehabilitation and social reintegration of convicted persons and probationers, the effective management of the penitentiary system, and the harmonization of national legislation with the European Union’s legal framework.

Paata Salia briefed his Croatian counterpart on the priorities of Georgia’s Ministry of Justice, including upholding the rule of law and further improving human rights protection standards. The ministers also discussed successful reforms implemented in Georgia’s penitentiary system.

The Georgian Justice Minister also outlined the reforms undertaken in Georgia to advance digital transformation and introduce innovative technologies. He emphasized that the ultimate goal of digital transformation is to make citizens’ interactions with public institutions simpler and more convenient by providing fast and accessible services.

The meeting was also attended by Bekа Dzamashvili, First Deputy Minister of Justice of Georgia, and Aleksandre Jishkariani, Consul General of Georgia in Istanbul.