The Ministry of Justice's grant program has led to the establishment of an annual International Scientific Symposium at Tbilisi State University's Faculty of Law. The initiative aims to foster both national and international university cooperation, emphasizing the role of doctoral students and young scholars in advancing the field. Additionally, it seeks to address current challenges in human rights protection and explore modern solutions.

The inaugural symposium, titled "Multidisciplinary Aspects of Human Rights Protection in the Context of Global Challenges," was opened by Deputy Minister of Justice, Tornike Cheishvili. The event, structured as a series of panel discussions, focused on critical topics such as administrative law, legal history and methodology, private law, constitutional law, international law, and criminal law—all within the framework of human rights protection.

Notable attendees included Dean of the Faculty of Law of TSU, Tamar Zarandia; her deputy, head of the project, Giorgi Dgebuadze; Participants also featured academic professionals and doctoral students from both Georgia and international institutions.

This international symposium will now be held annually, providing an ongoing platform for intensive collaboration between universities worldwide.

The project was funded through the Ministry of Justice’s annual grant competition, which supports civil society engagement and promotes various civil initiatives. This year, the Ministry is sponsoring 17 projects.

Deputy Minister of Justice, Beka Dzamashvili met Lars Johan Lönnback to discuss avenues for sectoral cooperation with the International Organization of Migration (IOM).

During the meeting, both parties addressed the state's policies and progress in migration management and the fight against human trafficking.

The Deputy Minister emphasized the significance of inter-agency mechanisms led by the Ministry of Justice in combating human trafficking and managing migration. It was noted that these issues are pivotal to Georgia's relationship with the European Union, particularly in the context of visa liberalization.

The meeting also highlighted several initiatives aimed at deepening future cooperation.

Among the attendees were Chair of the State Services Development Agency, Ketevan Betlemidze, Executive Secretary of the Government Commission on Migration, Giorgi Jashi, and Head of the Department of International Legal Cooperation of the Ministry of Justice, Ana Gvinjilia.

The Minister of Justice of Georgia, Rati Bregadze, met with Gustav Talving, the Executive Director of EUROPRIS, to discuss successful reforms in the penitentiary system and explore areas for further collaboration. This meeting took place during the Annual Conference of the European Association of Penitentiary System Training Centers (EPTA), hosted by the Justice Training Center of the Georgian Ministry of Justice, under Georgia’s presidency of EPTA.

Georgia became the head of the organization in 2023.

During the meeting, the Minister and the Executive Director reflected on the positive outcomes of the Tbilisi conference and outlined future cooperation initiatives.

Gustav Talving expressed his gratitude to Minister Bregadze for hosting the event and for the productive partnership between Georgia and EUROPRIS, which has notably strengthened since their meeting in the Hague in May 2023.

The meeting was also attended by Beka Dzamashvili, the Deputy Minister of Justice.

The Ministry of Justice, together with the Justice Training Center, is hosting the annual conference of the European Penitentiary Training Academy (EPTA), under Georgia’s chairmanship of the organization. The conference is dedicated to discussing education and practice development within penitentiary systems.

In his opening remarks, Minister Rati Bregadze emphasized the critical role of penitentiary systems in maintaining public order and national security. He highlighted several key achievements within the Georgian penitentiary system, including:

• Digital University, providing prisoners with access to education;
• Employed prisoners and the "Re-Market" initiative, where products made by convicts are sold;
• Georgian innovation - Public Service Hall located within penitentiary institutions, allowing convicts access to essential state services.

Minister Bregadze further underscored the significance of the Penal Code, explaining that it ensures favorable conditions for both inmates and prison staff.

"The state's respect for human rights is most evident in the conditions within its penitentiary institutions. The Penitentiary Code not only protects the rights of inmates but also improves the working conditions of employees, allowing for the humane execution of sentences," he said. Bregadze also discussed the ministry's ongoing infrastructural projects, emphasizing the trend toward constructing small-scale institutions as a priority.

"We follow the trend of building small-scale facilities in penitentiary system. On the one-year anniversary of the opening of the small-scale institution in Laituri, we will open a second small-scale institution in Rustavi, which will be designed for a maximum of 200 inmates. "None of these advancements would have been possible without well-trained personnel," Bregadze noted, emphasizing the establishment of a new structure within the Justice Training Center to oversee staff training. He also mentioned the creation of the Saakadze Base and the focus on infrastructure improvements and tailored educational programs for penitentiary employees. Chairperson of the Human Rights Protection and Civil Integration Committee of the Parliament, Rati Yonatamishvili, and Executive Director of the European Organization of Prison and Penitentiary Systems EUROPRIS, Gustav Talving also addressed the conference.

"Georgia was a part of the Soviet system for 70 years, and the effort the country made to get out of this period is very impressive. Mr. Bregadze, thank you very much for your trust, for supporting EUROPRIS and EPTA, and thank you even more for continuously trying to bring Georgia's penitentiary system closer to European standards," said Gustav Talving. Over the course of the three-day conference, attendees will tour Penitentiary No. 16 to observe prisoner-operated small enterprises and visit the Saakadze Training Base for demonstrations of penitentiary work and the services provided by the Public Service Hall.

The Justice Training Center assumed the EPTA chairmanship in 2023 for a one-year term. Established in 2010, EPTA consists of 36 European penitentiary training centers, fostering collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and best practices across the continent.