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 First Deputy Minister of Justice of Georgia and the Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan spoke today about the prospects for the development of sectoral cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting of Tamar Tkeshelashvili and Khudoior Meliev was held within the framework of the visit of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Abdulla Aripov, to the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Gharibashvili.

The First Deputy Minister of Justice of Georgia introduced to her colleagues the successful reforms implemented under the leadership of the Ministry of Justice and the main areas of the agency's activities. Special attention was paid to the innovative projects introduced to provide access to services - the Mobile Public Service Hall and the opening of branches of the Public Service Hall in penitentiary institutions, which is a Georgian innovation.

Within the framework of the visit of the delegation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Irakli Gharibashvili and Abdulla Aripov signed the 2023-2024 action plan of joint practical measures for the development of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

On July 5, 2023, the lawyers of the convicted Saakashvili presented an appeal regarding the admission of Polish doctors to the Viva-Med clinic. On July 12, the doctors named by them were granted the opportunity to visit the convict;

The lawyer's letter indicated that the given information was confidential. However, later, through one of the TV companies, the public watched live the process of doctors entering the hospital, followed by the political TV programs, and consequently by violation of privacy;

There was an incomprehensible incident from one of the Polish doctors. The Polish doctor wrapped the sample taken from the convict Mikheil Saakashvili in paper and tried to sneak it out of the clinic by hiding it in his shoe;

The relevant service itself gave them the right to take the sample taken in an official manner. Accordingly, the mentioned action on the part of the doctor adds even more ambiguity to the behavior inconsistent with medical ethics and legal norms;

This person has been demanded an explanation of this action that cannot be logically explained;

We request the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to listen to the position of the Polish Embassy, because the Polish Embassy was one of the recommenders of these doctors;

Georgia is an independent and sovereign state, a legal state, and for a legal state it is necessary that the law be enforced. The execution of the sentence is the execution of the law, especially when the rights of both the convicted Saakashvili and all other prisoners are concerned;

We act only within the framework of the legislation based on the interest of the Georgian people; For us, purely political impressions, which are not based on evidence, are of no essential importance;

We all must respect the sovereignty of our country, no matter how big the claims are, if they are not based on evidence and behind which there is no logic, we cannot take anyone's opinion into account, we will act strictly within the framework of the legislation.

The Special Penitentiary Service has implemented a reform to ensure even greater safety of escorting prisoners, which resulted in the opening of a Unified Escort Management Center today.

Minister of Justice, Rati Bregadze and Head of the Special Penitentiary Service, Nika Tshvarashvili got acquainted with the functioning of the newly opened center.

The center is equipped with the latest and modern equipment of radio and GPS navigation, which allows to carry out both the transportation of convicts, as well as the work of the employees of the agency, promptly, efficiently and with even higher safety standards.

The Penitentiary Service provided a comfortable working environment for the staff employed in the Unified Escort Management Center and allocated a rest area for the employees, which is equipped with all the necessary equipment and supplies.

The priority for the Special Penitentiary Service is to improve the conditions of the prisoners, as well as to ensure a decent working environment for the employees. For this purpose, the Service implements a number of reforms and projects that make its activities even more effective.

The forum on the topic "Sharing the best experience on the path of Georgia's integration with the European Union" was held in Tbilisi for two days.

The event will take an annual form and will be held alternately in Georgia and Germany, which is a unique opportunity for sustainable and irreversible legal cooperation between the two countries.

The Georgian-German legal forum was planned within the framework of the memorandum of cooperation signed last year between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Ministry of Justice of Georgia.

It is a platform that brings together both legislative, executive and judicial authorities, including representatives of the Ministry of Justice system and the scientific circle.

Within the framework of the forum, all of the participants had the opportunity to discuss current issues and challenges in the field of law, interesting reforms, innovations and new joint initiatives.

The forum created a solid legal cooperation format, which is of particular importance in the path of Georgia's integration with the European Union. Within the framework of the forum, the participating parties discussed such important legal issues as:

Institutional organisation of the legal systems of Georgia and Germany;

Georgia's legal rapprochement with the European Union;

improvement of international legal guarantees for the protection of children's rights;

The role of academia in policy development and science-based law-making;

Professional development of penitentiary and probation systems.

At the Georgian-German forum, special attention was paid to the approaches of rehabilitation and re-socialisation of convicts and continuous measures of raising the qualifications of employees. For the German side, as well as for the international community, the innovations introduced in Georgia- Public Service Halls in penitentiary institutions and Digital University - were especially interesting; At the two-day Georgian-German legal forum, the German delegation was led by the State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Angelika Shlunk.

The event was attended by Vice-President of the European Union Agency Eurojust, Boštjan Škrlec; representatives of legislative and judicial authorities; Heads of the Prosecutor's Office, Bar Association, Penitentiary Service and representatives of the academia.

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 Georgian-German legal forum, the Minister of Justice Rati bregadze met with the State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice of the Federal Republic of Germany, Angelika Schlunk.

Georgian-German legal forum is held for the first time. The basis of this format of legal cooperation between Georgia and Germany was laid last year during the meeting of Rati Bregadze with his German counterpart, Marko Bushman in Berlin.

During the meeting with Anzhelika Shlunk, Rati Bregadze emphasized the importance of deepening legal cooperation between the two countries in the process of bringing Georgian legislation closer to European standards.

The Minister noted that integration with the European Union is the main and irreversible priority of the Georgian government, especially after the European Union recognized Georgia's European perspective.

In a conversation with the State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Minister of Justice noted that the agency was actively involved in the process of granting Georgia candidate status by the European Union and in fulfilling 12 priorities.

Within the framework of the cooperation program signed between the Ministries of Justice of Georgia and Germany last year in Berlin, in August of this year, Rati Bregadze will host Minister of Justice of North Westphalia of the German Federation, Benjamin Limbach and the German delegation. The topic of the meeting will be issues of cooperation between penitentiary and probation systems.

The idea of a joint forum emerged in September last year during the meeting of the Ministers of Justice of Georgia and Germany. The forum is one of the important supporting tools in the process of Georgia's integration with the European Union. It aims to strengthen legal professionals and bring the legal systems of the two countries closer together.

Minister of Justice, Rati Bregadze addressed the participants of the forum. "The new format is an additional means for the country to bring the Georgian legal space much closer to the European standards, which, in the end, will have a positive effect on the achievement of Georgia's goal - to become a member of the big family of the European Union", said Rati Bregadze.

The German delegation at the forum is headed by State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Angelika Schlunk. The event will be attended by the Vice-President of the European Union Agency Eurojust, Boštjan Škrlec; Members of the legislative and judicial authorities, heads of the Prosecutor's Office, Bar Association, Penitentiary Service and representatives of academia.

The two-day legal forum entitled "Sharing the best experiences on the path of Georgia's integration with the European Union" will end on July 6.

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.