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.

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 Minister and his deputies held a working meeting today with the employees of the Kakheti region of the system of the Ministry of Justice to discuss the innovations introduced in the system.

Special attention was paid to the innovation of the Ministry of Justice - the opening of branches of Public Service Halls in penitentiary institutions, which has no analogues in any country of the world.

The Minister noted at the meeting that improving the existing services in the system of the Ministry of Justice and increasing their availability is one of the priorities of the agency. For this purpose, the development of innovative technologies and the implementation of new projects will continue in the future.

Rati Bregadze heard the employees' opinions regarding future plans and received comprehensive information about their needs.

It was noted at the discussion that the new code improves the working conditions of the employees of the special penitentiary service and the legal status of persons in penitentiary institutions - it sets even higher standards for the protection of the rights of convicts and accused persons.

Members of the Parliament emphasized the fact that the Penal Code draft takes into account the recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), as well as the Public Defender of Georgia.

Deputy Minister of Justice Tornike Cheishvili presented the project to the legislative body.

The draft of the Penal Code provides for a number of innovations, including:

• The defendant will be granted the right to a lengthy appointment; All kinds of dating will become completely free;
• All convicts will have the right to receive higher education; The living conditions of accused and convicted persons will be equalized;
• All units of the penitentiary service will be given a special status, which will equalize and improve the conditions of employees;
• The circle of persons with special rank will be expanded in the penitentiary system;

In addition to official and rank salary, the employees will receive a supplement for years of service.

Along with the first reading of the draft Penal Code, the Parliament of Georgia also adopted a legislative package consisting of 21 draft laws.

According to the report of the US State Department on June 15, 2023, Georgia still holds the highest position in the measures taken against human trafficking, and among 188 countries around the world, it has retained its place for the 8th year. "In the first basket". This year, only 30 countries remain in the highest rating scale.

This year, Georgia is the only one in the region and among the so-called "expanding countries", which has the highest rating of the US State Department and is next to the EU countries, including Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Luxembourg, in terms of the effective fight against trafficking.

The fight against trafficking was and remains one of the priorities of the Georgian government, which is also an important part of the process of Georgia's integration into the European Union and creates a safe and reliable environment in the country and the region in terms of fighting transnational organized crime.

According to the US State Department's report, Georgia fully meets these anti-trafficking standards, continues to take strong, sustainable, consistent and coordinated anti-trafficking measures, which leads to the country's highest rating.

The special approval of the US State Department concerned:

• Guiding documents developed under the guidance of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, which help the process of identification of victims;
• The approval of the 2023-2024 action plan for the fight against trafficking;
• Measures aimed at crime prevention, awareness and qualification raising;
• Proactive measures aimed at crime detection;
• Improving the mechanisms for detecting cases of labor exploitation.

Georgia's leading position in the report of the US State Department and the progress achieved during the reporting period are the result of the effective work of the Interagency Coordinating Council implementing measures against human trafficking.

The Council is headed by the Minister of Justice of Georgia and its members include representatives of all relevant state agencies, the Office of the Public Defender, non-governmental and international organizations.

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.

Deputy Minister of Justice, Buba Lomuashvili spoke today about the progress in the Ministry of Justice in the direction of protecting the rights of persons with disabilities at the 16th session of the Conference of the Contracting States of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

The Deputy Minister emphasized the importance of the principles of accessibility and inclusiveness and focused on the provision of simplified information and state services for disabled people.

It should be noted that the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in the Ministry of Justice is carried out within the framework of the 2023 action plan. The document was developed with the involvement of the Advisory Council, which includes representative organizations of disabled people, non-governmental organizations and representatives of the disabled community.

The representatives of the executive and legislative authorities of Georgia also participated in the conference. Within the framework of the visit, a meeting is planned with the Chairperson of the United Nations Committee on Persons with Disabilities, Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame.