Within the framework of the meeting between Minister of Justice of Georgia, Rati Bregadze and Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Maria Burich, Georgia's progress in the areas of human rights protection and strengthening of the rule of law was noted, which is reflected in the conclusions and reports of the bodies of the Council of Europe.

The conversation touched upon the successful reforms carried out in the penitentiary system, as a result of which the practice of torture and inhuman treatment has been eliminated in prisons, which, until 2012, was repeatedly criticized by the Strasbourg Court and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) of the Council of Europe; Prisoners have the opportunity to get higher education and acquire professions; have complete medical services; participate in sports competitions; can use the services of the Public Service Hall in penitentiary institutions; Get employed and have their own income.

The legislative changes implemented in 2022 were positively evaluated, as a result of which the Georgian courts will proactively use the precedents of the ECHR, and thus the Georgian justice system will be even closer to the standards of human rights protection established by the European Court. In addition, attention was focused on the importance of enforcing the interstate disputes won by Georgia against Russia, and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe promised full support to Georgia in this process.

Deputy Minister of Justice, Beka Dzamashvili and Permanent Representative of Georgia to the Council of Europe, Tamar Taliashvili also attended the meeting.

The Ministry of Justice will continue its close cooperation with European structures in the future in order to strengthen human rights and strengthen the rule of law.

The residents of Samtredia, Terjola, Zestafoni, Khashuri and Akhmeta will be soon able to use the services of the Public Service Hall. The branches are being built simultaneously in several cities of Georgia.

Minister of Justice, Rati Bregadze visited today the ongoing construction works in Samtredia, Terjola, Zestafoni and Khashuri together with Deputy. Minister, Erekle Gvinianidze and Chairperson of the Public Service Hall, Lasha Lobjanidze. The Minister got acquainted with the working process and talked to the representatives of the construction company.

The opening of the branches of the Public Service Hall in the regions of Georgia will further increase the availability of state services for citizens, which is a strategic priority of the Ministry of Justice.

For this purpose, in 2022-23, new Public Service Halls opened in Tbilisi – Varketili, and Supsa; constructions are underway in 5 cities of Georgia; It is planned to start the construction of 8 more branches - Sagarejo, Mtskheta, Tolebi, Zoti, Tsaishi, Khelvachauri, Shrosha and Gldani in Tbilisi.

In 2023, Public Service Halls will open in Zestafoni, Khashuri and Samtredia, and by the end of 2024 - in all municipal centers.

According to the order of the Minister of Justice of Georgia No. 324 of June 22, 2022, qualification exams for notaries will be held from July 31 to August 19 of 2023. The qualification exam will be held at the Training Center of Justice in two stages. The first stage includes general skills (verbal and mathematical parts), and the second - professional testing. Documents will be accepted from June 26, 2023 to July 26, 2023 at the following email address: trainingcenter@tcj.gov.ge.

Those wishing to take the exam must submit the following documents electronically:

• a copy of the document confirming higher legal education - diploma;
• CV;
• copy of identity document;
• 3/4 color photograph;
• Receipt confirming the payment of the statutory fee for participation in the exam in the amount of 150 GEL (see bank details in the attached documents).

Legal acts related to the qualification exam:

1. Order No. 324 of the Minister of Justice of Georgia dated June 22, 2023, "on the announcement of the qualification exam for notaries"
2. Order No. 68 of the Minister of Justice of March 31, 2010, "on the approval of the rules for conducting the qualification exam for notaries, the regulations of the qualification examination commission and the program for the qualification exam for notaries”.

The visit of the Department of Enforcement of Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights to Georgia started with a meeting at the Ministry of Justice. The purpose of the visit is to assess the progress achieved in the implementation of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and to plan future measures in cooperation with the Georgian authorities.

The members of the delegation met with Deputy Minister of Justice, Beka Dzamashvili and Head of the Department of State Representation in International Courts, Nino Nikolaishvili. Within the framework of the meeting, the positive results achieved in the implementation of the decisions of the European Court and the existing challenges were reviewed.

At the meeting, the legislative changes adopted within the framework of the 11th recommendation of the European Union were positively evaluated, as a result of which the Georgian courts will proactively use the precedents of the Strasbourg Court, and thus the Georgian justice system will be even closer to the standards of human rights protection established by the European Court. In addition, as a result of the legislative changes, all the decisions of the Strasbourg Court issued in relation to Georgia and significant precedent decisions issued in relation to other countries will be translated into Georgian by the Legislative Herald of Georgia, which will contribute to raising awareness among the public and in legal circles.

In terms of legislative changes, it was also positively noted that from 2022, the investigation of facts of violations of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms established by the European Court or its Additional Protocol became subordinate to the Special Investigation Service.

As it was mentioned at the meeting, according to official statistics, the total number of cases against Georgia in the European Court has decreased dramatically. In particular, by 2011, the European Court of Human Rights had 3,045 cases filed against Georgia, and as of January 2023, only 147 complaints filed against Georgia are considered in the Strasbourg Court, which is a historical minimum for Georgia during its membership in the Council of Europe. During the meeting, special attention was paid to the issues of enforcement of decisions taken on interstate disputes between Russia and Georgia and their importance for the victims and the Georgian society.

Within the framework of the visit, meetings will be held with all relevant agencies involved in the process of enforcement of the decisions of the European Court, including the General Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Special Investigation Service, the Parliament of Georgia, the Supreme Court and the Higher School of Justice. The mentioned meetings will continue with the coordination and active involvement of the Ministry of Justice.

Since 2012, the Ministry of Justice has been one of the main regulatory and supervisory agencies in the field of cyber security in Georgia. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the safe delivery of government services and raising public awareness in the field of cyber security.

Minister of Justice Rati Bregadze delivered a speech at the cyber security forum.

"In the 21st century, in the technological era, the digitization of many areas has, on the one hand, greatly simplified life, and on the other hand, it has also given rise to many challenges. A few years ago, it may have been considered a sci-fi fiction that public administration would be completely digital, but today it is already a reality. In the field of justice, administrative acts, laws, court decisions will be advanced to a significant extent through artificial intelligence. Therefore, the more the digital sphere grows, the more threats there will be in the future. Therefore, cyber security will be given even more special importance in the future. Cyber security is an integral part of the immunity of the modern state, and taking care of it is one of the main challenges that any modern state can face.

In addition to local security, security also has an international dimension, and that is why close cooperation with our international partners is one of the main priorities for international security. I am pleased to represent the Ministry of Justice at this forum, where the Digital Governance Agency plays one of the most important roles in the country, even in ensuring the digital security of the private sector. All this requires a broad forum, cooperation both at the inter-departmental and international level, and therefore we thank the Prime Minister, who chairs this forum, as well as Minister of Internal Affairs, Vakhtang Gomelauri, and all the members of the National Security Council, on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, for organizing this forum; as well as for each step taken to ensure the security of the state. We declare our full readiness to cooperate with all agencies to the best of our ability," said Rati Bregadze.

Representatives of Georgian public agencies involved in ensuring cyber security, foreign experts from partner countries and representatives of diplomatic missions also participate in the event.

The Deputy Minister of Justice discussed the results achieved as a result of successful cooperation with the Head of the Department of Enforcement of Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.

Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Gharibashvili opened today the "Georgian Cyber Security Forum - 2023".

Since 2012, the Ministry of Justice has been one of the main regulatory and supervisory agencies in the field of cyber security in Georgia. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the safe delivery of government services and raising public awareness in the field of cyber security.

Minister of Justice Rati Bregadze delivered a speech at the cyber security forum.

"In the 21st century, in the technological era, the digitization of many areas has, on the one hand, greatly simplified life, and on the other hand, it has also given rise to many challenges. A few years ago, it may have been considered a sci-fi fiction that public administration would be completely digital, but today it is already a reality. In the field of justice, administrative acts, laws, court decisions will be advanced to a significant extent through artificial intelligence. Therefore, the more the digital sphere grows, the more threats there will be in the future. Therefore, cyber security will be given even more special importance in the future. Cyber security is an integral part of the immunity of the modern state, and taking care of it is one of the main challenges that any modern state can face.

In addition to local security, security also has an international dimension, and that is why close cooperation with our international partners is one of the main priorities for international security. I am pleased to represent the Ministry of Justice at this forum, where the Digital Governance Agency plays one of the most important roles in the country, even in ensuring the digital security of the private sector. All this requires a broad forum, cooperation both at the inter-departmental and international level, and therefore we thank the Prime Minister, who chairs this forum, as well as Minister of Internal Affairs, Vakhtang Gomelauri, and all the members of the National Security Council, on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, for organizing this forum; as well as for each step taken to ensure the security of the state. We declare our full readiness to cooperate with all agencies to the best of our ability," said Rati Bregadze.

Representatives of Georgian public agencies involved in ensuring cyber security, foreign experts from partner countries and representatives of diplomatic missions also participate in the event.

The Deputy Minister of Justice discussed the results achieved as a result of successful cooperation with the Head of the Department of Enforcement of Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.

From 2022, systematic land registration is being carried out throughout the country. Minister of Justice, Rati Bregadze and First Deputy Minister, Tamar Tkeshelashvili along with Chairperson of the National Agency of Public Registry, David Devidze got acquainted with the cadastral surveying of plots by the field teams of the National Public Registry Agency in Lagodekhi municipality. The process is fully electronic - the survey teams fill out the relevant reports electronically, which minimizes the possibility of technical errors.

Rati Bregadze spoke to the local population about the results of the reform and handed over the land registration confirmations to the citizens.

Within the framework of the system land registration reform in Lagodekhi municipality, 37,456 land plots have been measured and 10,284 plots have been registered, and the registration of the rest of the plots continues systematically. 351,204 plots of land have been measured throughout the country since 2022; Ownership was registered for 259,759 plots of land. Within the framework of the project, about 1000 jobs have been created.

Systematic registration of land is completely free for all citizens. Diaspora representatives can also benefit from the reform.

The mentioned sectoral cooperation derives from the Association Agreement between Georgia and the European Union and is an important part of the process of Georgia's integration into the European Union.

The implementation of the first bilateral project (EMCDDA4GE), which took place exclusively between Georgia and EMCDDA, was a positive continuation of the successful and intensive cooperation of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia with the European Agency. Among the third world countries, Georgia is the only state, which has experience of this kind of cooperation with the European Agency.

It should be noted that in order to strengthen sectoral cooperation with EU agencies and strengthen the process of Georgia's integration into the European Union, a working agreement was signed between the Ministry of Justice and the EMCDDA in September 2022, which aims to improve the existing drug policy and monitoring mechanisms in the country and inform decision-makers with evidence.

Deputy Minister of Justice, Beka Dzamashvili opened the closing event of the project and thanked both the EU delegation to Georgia, the EMCDDA and the project team for the assistance and fruitful cooperation. Representatives of the thematic agencies and civil sector attended the event.

The implementation of a balanced drug policy based on the protection of human rights and research and analysis was and remains a priority of the Georgian government. The Ministry of Justice will continue active cooperation with the EMCDDA in this regard.

The cooperation between the Ministry of Justice of Georgia and the European Union Agency "European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction" (EMCDDA) actively continues in order to improve the evidence-based drug policy and strengthen monitoring of the drug situation.

The mentioned sectoral cooperation derives from the Association Agreement between Georgia and the European Union and is an important part of the process of Georgia's integration into the European Union.

The implementation of the first bilateral project (EMCDDA4GE), which took place exclusively between Georgia and EMCDDA, was a positive continuation of the successful and intensive cooperation of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia with the European Agency. Among the third world countries, Georgia is the only state, which has experience of this kind of cooperation with the European Agency.

It should be noted that in order to strengthen sectoral cooperation with EU agencies and strengthen the process of Georgia's integration into the European Union, a working agreement was signed between the Ministry of Justice and the EMCDDA in September 2022, which aims to improve the existing drug policy and monitoring mechanisms in the country and inform decision-makers with evidence.

Deputy Minister of Justice, Beka Dzamashvili opened the closing event of the project and thanked both the EU delegation to Georgia, the EMCDDA and the project team for the assistance and fruitful cooperation. Representatives of the thematic agencies and civil sector attended the event.

The implementation of a balanced drug policy based on the protection of human rights and research and analysis was and remains a priority of the Georgian government. The Ministry of Justice will continue active cooperation with the EMCDDA in this regard.