Rati Bregadze and Katarina Sarmento e Castro signed today the memorandum of cooperation within the framework of the visit of the Georgian delegation to Portugal.

The decision to deepen sectoral cooperation and sign a memorandum was made at the meeting of the Ministers of Justice of Georgia and Portugal in July 2022, at which the parties discussed concrete initiatives for the development of bilateral relations.

The memorandum covers various areas of cooperation between Georgia and Portugal, including the approximation of Georgian legislation with EU law, digitalization of justice, crime prevention, rehabilitation and re-socialization of convicts in penitentiary and probation systems, and access to educational programs. For this purpose, the memorandum envisions the development of training and qualification improvement programs for the employees of the Ministries of Justice of the two countries, as well as the organization of joint seminars, study visits and legal forums.

The signing of the memorandum was preceded by a meeting between the Ministers of Justice of Georgia and Portugal. Rati Bregadze and Katarina Sarmento e Castro discussed specific opportunities for mutual cooperation and future initiatives. The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister of Justice of Georgia, Beka Dzamashvili, Ambassador of Georgia to Portugal, Giorgi Mirtskhulava and Deputy Head of the Mission, Tsotne Zurabiani.

In Portugal, the Georgian delegation will hold meetings with the State Secretary and the head of the Penitentiary Service on issues of digitization and administrative modernization. A visit of the delegation to the penitentiary and justice campus is also planned.

The summarizing of the project results took place in Tbilisi State University. The participants of the event spoke about the importance of the program and the importance of raising legal awareness among minors. At the end of the meeting, the participants of the project - students and experts of the Faculty of Law received special certificates.

The goal of the project financed within the grant program of the Ministry of Justice is to popularize legal education in educational institutions, strengthen legal culture, raise the level of legal awareness among schoolchildren and develop professional skills among the next generation of lawyers. The presenter of the grant proposal is the Tinatin Tsereteli Scientific Society.

The Ministry of Justice annually announces a grant competition for strengthening civil involvement in the agency's activities. Last year, the agency funded 17 best projects.

Representatives of the Ministry of Justice regularly monitor and support the progress of the funded projects.

The project "Promotion of legal education in the future generation for the security of the legal state and its institutional development" has completed. The participants of the project - about 30 students selected from the law faculties of different universities, after a 5-day training in the field of human rights, held meetings with the students of public schools. It should be noted that educational institutions not only in Tbilisi, but also in the regions of Georgia were involved in the project. In addition to the capital, meetings with students were held in Batumi, Lagodekhi and Gori schools.

The summarizing of the project results took place in Tbilisi State University. The participants of the event spoke about the importance of the program and the importance of raising legal awareness among minors. At the end of the meeting, the participants of the project - students and experts of the Faculty of Law received special certificates.

The goal of the project financed within the grant program of the Ministry of Justice is to popularize legal education in educational institutions, strengthen legal culture, raise the level of legal awareness among schoolchildren and develop professional skills among the next generation of lawyers. The presenter of the grant proposal is the Tinatin Tsereteli Scientific Society.

The Ministry of Justice annually announces a grant competition for strengthening civil involvement in the agency's activities. Last year, the agency funded 17 best projects.

Representatives of the Ministry of Justice regularly monitor and support the progress of the funded projects.

The speaker spoke about the results of the occupation and the current situation. Special attention was paid to the difficult and successful struggle that the Ministry of Justice waged in Strasbourg and Hague against Russia to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia.

Among other things, the students were also informed about the importance of the facts that the Strasbourg and Hague courts recognize the territorial integrity of our country and confirm the occupation by Russia for the purpose of further de-occupation of Georgia and protection of sovereignty.

The lecture was conducted in an interactive mode, within which the speaker answered the students' questions and listened to their opinions.

Face-to-face communication with the public is a priority of the Ministry of Justice. The cycle of public lectures began on May 26, 2022 marking the Independence Day and is being held throughout Georgia in order to inform the public about issues of state importance.

The cycle of public lectures on the topic "Protection of Georgia's sovereignty by legal means" continues. Head of the Department of State Representation in International Courts, Nino Nikolaishvili led the lecture at the Ministry of Justice today.

The speaker spoke about the results of the occupation and the current situation. Special attention was paid to the difficult and successful struggle that the Ministry of Justice waged in Strasbourg and Hague against Russia to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia.

Among other things, the students were also informed about the importance of the facts that the Strasbourg and Hague courts recognize the territorial integrity of our country and confirm the occupation by Russia for the purpose of further de-occupation of Georgia and protection of sovereignty.

The lecture was conducted in an interactive mode, within which the speaker answered the students' questions and listened to their opinions.

Face-to-face communication with the public is a priority of the Ministry of Justice. The cycle of public lectures began on May 26, 2022 marking the Independence Day and is being held throughout Georgia in order to inform the public about issues of state importance.

The Ministry of Justice hosted today the delegation of the Republic of Moldova. Within the framework of the study visit, Georgian officials shared with the members of the delegation of the Republic of Moldova the experience of the work conducted for the ratification and further implementation of the Council of Europe Convention of May 11, 2011 (Istanbul Convention) under the leadership of the Ministry of Justice.

Changes in Georgian legislation, measures to raise awareness of domestic violence against women, behavior correction programs in the penitentiary and probation systems - these are the issues that the Moldovan delegation was introduced to during the study visit.

The study visit was planned within the framework of the European Council project. The Council of Europe considers that the Georgian mechanism for monitoring femicide and the Georgian model of implementing the convention at the level of national legislation are exemplary for the Republic of Moldova, which ratified the Istanbul Convention in 2022.

Georgia completed the ratification of the Istanbul Convention in 2017, after which, with the joint efforts of the executive, legislative, judicial authorities and the non-governmental sector, under the leadership of the Ministry of Justice, effective legislative and institutional tools were created to eliminate and respond to violence against women.

Sharing the experience of Georgia will help the Republic of Moldova in the prevention of violence against women and in the family, effective fight against this crime and identification of victims of violence. The study visit serves to deepen the cooperation between the two countries.

32 years ago, on March 31, 1991, the Scientific Advisory Council discussed the importance of the historical referendum. This day is an example of exemplary civil unanimity in the recent history of Georgia, because Abkhaz and Ossetian citizens participated in the referendum held throughout Georgia, including those who supported the idea of Georgia's independence. It was the results of the March 31 referendum that became the basis for the adoption of the State Independence Act by the Supreme Council on April 9, 1991.

At the today’s meeting, the participants discussed the prospects of peaceful coexistence within the internationally recognized borders of Georgia, the policy of reconciliation and the will, once again declared by the March 31 referendum, which implies the construction of an independent, united and strong state.

Minister of Justice of Georgia, Rati Bregadze, First Deputy Minister, Tamar Tkeshelashvili, Deputy Minister, Tornike Cheishvili and members of the Scientific Advisory Council at the Ministry - professors of the law school of higher educational institutions and prominent experts in various fields of law, doctoral students and researchers attended the session of the Scientific Advisory Council.

Rati Bregadze held a meeting today with the members of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). At the meeting, the Minister of Justice discussed the ongoing reforms within the Ministry and emphasized the importance of cooperation with the PACE Monitoring Committee in the way of promoting the rule of law and human rights.

The conversation touched on the victories achieved by Georgia in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the sharp decrease in applications against Georgia. In particular, ten years ago, the Strasbourg Court had to deal with about 3,000 cases against Georgia, and this year - only 147, which is the result of the reforms implemented by the Georgian government and the strengthening of citizens' trust in domestic courts.

At the meeting, it was noted that last year, in order to strengthen the enforcement of Strasbourg court decisions at the national level, legislative changes were implemented, which is one of the recommendations of the 12 priorities of the European Union implemented by the Georgian authorities.

According to the Minister, the agency continues to work to strengthen human rights. For this purpose, a new penitentiary code and strategy have been developed, re-socialization and rehabilitation programs for prisoners are actively underway, a digital university has been created for convicts, employment opportunities have been expanded, a sports management strategy has been developed, a new prison in Laituri will be opened at the end of spring to solve the problem of prison overcrowding.

Deputy Minister of Justice, Tornike Cheishvili presented today the draft law developed by the Ministry of Justice to the Regional Policy and Self-Government Committee of the Parliament.

The legislative initiative envisions the creation of a national geoportal, which will be the official web portal of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). It reflects relevant spatial data owned by public institutions or, in certain cases, natural and/or private legal entities. Spatial data will be easily exchangeable and accessible at central, regional and local levels.

The creation of NSDI will contribute to the regulation of transport, tourism, environmental issues; management, planning and efficient operation of agriculture, defense, infrastructure projects, emergency situations, communication systems, land, government and utility services; attracting investments and increasing economic activity.

In addition, one of the goals of the draft law is to facilitate the integration of the national spatial data infrastructure into the unified spatial information infrastructure of the EU countries (INSPIRE).

At the meeting, the Minister of Justice of Georgia discussed future initiatives for the promotion of legal migration with the special representative of the German government on migration issues, which aims, on the one hand, to protect the rights of legal migrants from Georgia to Germany, and on the other hand, to reduce the number of illegal migrants.

Rati Bregadze noted that during the process of European integration, Georgia's policy in the field of migration has developed significantly, and close cooperation with EU member states, including Germany, played a special role in this regard. The Minister expressed hope that further cooperation between Germany and Georgia in this direction will be equally successful.

The meeting between Rati Bregadze and Joachim Stamp is a continuation of the existing close sectoral cooperation between Georgia and Germany, this time in the direction of migration management.

Cooperation with Germany on other issues within the competence of the Ministry of Justice became particularly intense since 2022, when the Georgia-Germany cooperation program in the field of justice for 2022-2025 was signed between the parties.

First Deputy Minister, Tamar Tkeshelashvili, Deputy Minister, Beka Dzamashvili and Ambassador of Georgia to Germany, Levan Izoria attended the meeting.

One of the agency's priorities is increasing access to legislation and promoting legal awareness. For this purpose, the LLP Legislative Herald of Georgia ensures the placement and accessibility of the legislation translated into the languages of ethnic minorities on the website for all interested persons.

Dozens of legal acts translated into Abkhazian, Ossetian, Azerbaijani and Armenian languages are already presented on the online platform of the Legislative Herald.

The Training Center of Justice offers a training course on Georgian law to ethnic minorities, within the framework of which the population will learn the basics of Georgian law and legal terminology along with the Georgian language for free.

Deputy Minister of Justice, Tornike Cheishvili, Chairperson of the Legislative Herald, Natia Chirikashvili and Director of the Training Center of Justice, Vakhtang Zhvania chaired the meeting held at the Marneuli Public Service Hall. They also received information about other needs from the meeting participants.

Taking into account the indicated information, the Ministry of Justice will offer various projects and services to ethnic minorities in the future.