Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov, who is on an official visit to the Prime Minister of Georgia, was hosted by Minister of Justice, Rati Bregadze today at the Central Public Service Hall in Tbilisi. The Minister of Justice of Georgia shared with the state delegation of Uzbekistan the Georgian experience of providing services.

The delegation of Uzbekistan also got acquainted with the Georgian innovation of the Ministry of Justice - the Public Service Hall in penitentiary institutions.

Rati Bregadze drew attention to the unprecedentedly high rate of availability of state services, including such innovative Georgian project as the Mobile Public Service Hall, which already covers the whole territory of Georgia.

The Minister of Justice also introduced to the delegation of Uzbekistan one of the successful reforms in the direction of execution of punishment in Georgia - Probbox, which is the first technological device in Europe, in which all the services are integrated, for the use of which probationers had to come to the probation offices outside the prison.

Deputy Minister of Justice, Erekle Gvinianidze and Chairperson of the Public Service Hall, Lasha Lobjanidze also attended the meeting with the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan.

The document was signed by the Ministers of Justice of the two countries, Rati Bregadze and Judit Varga. The joint declaration is a logical continuation of the close and rapid cooperation between the Ministers of Justice of Georgia and Hungary, which began in 2021 within the framework of the Ministerial meeting of the Council of Europe held in Venice. The purpose of the declaration is to share knowledge, experience and best practices on specific thematic issues in the field of justice between the two states, as well as to prepare for the interstate meeting planned for October of this year.

It should be noted that partnership relations and cooperation between Georgia and Hungary are being successfully carried out by the initiative and efforts of the heads of government of the two countries. Before signing the document, Rati Bregadze and Judit Varga held a meeting where they discussed the importance of Georgia's integration into the European Union and the support of partner states in this process.

The meeting was also attended by the Deputy Ministers of Justice of Georgia, Heads of the Ministry of Justice of Hungary, Ambassador of Hungary to Georgia, Anna Siko.

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.