A joint declaration on the digitization of public services was concluded today between the Israeli and Georgian Ministries of Justice. The document was signed by Rati Bregadze and Israeli Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Gideon Saar.

The declaration is a continuation of the memorandum signed between the parties in October 2021 and provides for cooperation in such matters as: access to public services, business and land registration, notary services, electronic apostille and others.

Before signing the document, a meeting was held between the parties. As Rati Bregadze noted, the signing of the declaration on digitalization of public services, the planned seminars and joint events are a clear example of the quick and effective implementation of the memorandum signed in October last year.

Rati Bregadze also informed his colleague about the latest developments in the field of service delivery. It was noted that 8 Mobile Public Service Halls are already functioning for the population living in rural areas and their number will increase to twenty by the end of the year. According to the Minister, work is underway on the mobile application "JustApp", which will allow the users to receive all services online. At the meeting, the Georgian party also offered Israeli scientists to publish articles in Iustitia magazine.

First Deputy Minister of Justice, Tamar Tkeshelashvili, Deputies, Beka Dzamashvili, Buba Lomuashvili, Tornike Cheishvili, as well as Israeli Ambassador to Georgia, Hadas Meitsadi attended the meeting.

The representatives of the legislative, executive and judicial authorities got acquainted today with the changes prepared in the Ministry of Justice.

The purpose of the draft law is to bring Georgian legislation closer to European law, in particular, to recognize as binding the Hague Convention of November 23, 2007 "On International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance" and the Protocol of November 23, 2007 "On the Law Applicable to Maintenance Obligations".

In case of ratification of the Hague Convention and Protocol, international recovery of child support from responsible persons will be ensured for children in Georgia, if necessary. The contracting states of the Convention will cooperate to establish a system of mutual assistance and to implement efficient and speedy enforcement of justice in disputes of an international nature of family support.

In addition to the fact that mandatory recognition of these legal acts is an obligation for our country under the agenda of association between Georgia and the European Union, the convention sets a high standard for the protection of the child's rights taking into account his/her best interests.

It is planned to ratify the Hague Convention and Protocol in the near future.
The discussion on the legislative changes prepared for the implementation of the Hague Convention and Protocol was held in Georgia with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Community Centers of the Ministry of Justice will continue to operate under the brand of the Public Service Hall. Deputy Minister of Justice, Erekle Gvinianidze presented today the initiative at the session of the Regional Policy and Self-Government Committee in the Parliament.

As a result of the rebranding of Community Centers, instead of 250 services, the population living in rural areas will be offered 470 services according to the usual standard of the Public Service Hall.

"The goal of the Ministry of Justice is that by 2024 there will be no more municipalities without a Public Service Hall. It is for this purpose that the construction of Khashuri, Zestafoni, Supsa, Terjola, Samtredia and Akhmeta branches of the Public Service Hall is currently underway, which will be completed in 2022-23. Next year, the construction of the Mtskheta, Sagarejo, Khelvachauri, Tsalenjikha, Zoti, Tolebi, Shrosha, Tsaishi, Didi Digmi and Gldani branches of the Public Service Hall will begin, which will be completed by the end of 2024. Currently, both the infrastructural renewal of public centers and the process of equalizing the services of the Public Service Hall and training of employees are actively underway. After the completion of the rebranding process, a common standard of service quality will be introduced," said Deputy Minister of Justice, Erekle Gvinianidze.

Rebranding is underway in 88 Community Centers throughout Georgia and the process will be completed by the new year. Kachreti Community Center is the first to start operating under the Public Service Hall brand.

In addition, according to the decision of the Ministry of Justice, the salaries of the employees working in the region and the capital were equalized.

Currently, 28 Public Service Halls, 88 Community Centers and 6 Mobile Public Service Halls are functioning throughout the country.

The importance of migration management in the European integration process was discussed at the meeting held in the Ministry of Justice.

Deputy Minister of Justice, Beka Dzamashvili met with the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration of the Kingdom of Belgium, Nicole de Moor. The meeting was also attended by Chairperson of the State Services Development Agency, Ketevan Betlemidze, Executive Secretary of the State Commission on Migration, Giorgi Jashi, and Head of the International Public Law Department of the Ministry of Justice, Ketevan Sarajishvili.

The parties discussed the reforms and legislative initiatives implemented by the Ministry of Justice within the framework of the Visa Liberalization Action Plan.

The Belgian delegation was also interested in the services of the Public Service Hall. After the meeting held at the Ministry of Justice, the delegation visited Tbilisi Public Service Hall and got acquainted with the concept of providing state services.

Minister of Justice, Rati Bregadze spoke about the importance of the European perspective for Georgia at the meeting held in the Bundestag. Rati Bregadze met with Head of Germany-South Caucasus Parliamentary Friendship Group, Johann David Wadephul in the Bundestag.

First Deputy Minister, Tamar Tkeshelashvili, Deputies, Buba Lomuashvili and Beka Dzamashvili, and Georgian ambassador to Germany, Levan Izoria also took part in the meeting.

The Minister of Justice noted at the meeting that sectoral cooperation and deepening of partnership with the Bundestag is an important issue in the European integration process of Georgia.

Johann David Wadephul noted that he had a very fruitful and good meeting with the Minister of Justice of Georgia.

"We are happy with the close contact of the Georgian authorities with Germany. The entire German parliament is very interested in deepening relations with Georgia. The parliamentary group responsible for Georgia is very happy with our friendship. We are glad that Georgia wants to take steps towards Europe. We are working to accelerate Georgia's even faster integration with the European Union. By expressing our common values and ideas, we will be able to live together in peace and friendship", said Johann David Wadephul.

The visit of the Ministry of Justice delegation to Germany began on September 6. Within the framework of the visit, meetings were held with the Minister of Justice of Germany, the President of the Chamber of Notaries, the Chairman of the Legal Committee of the Bundestag, the heads of the penitentiary and probation systems. Om addition, another meeting was held at Humboldt University.

Minister of Justice, Rati Bregadze visited today the Probation Bureau of the Federal Republic of Germany as part of his official visit to Germany. According to the Minister, the successful cooperation between Georgia and Germany is important in the process of European integration of Georgia, especially after granting the European perspective. First Deputy Minister, Tamar Tkeshelashvili, Deputy Minister Buba Lomuashvili and Beka Dzamashvili also participated in the meetings held at the Probation Bureau. According to the Minister, further development of penitentiary and crime prevention systems in accordance with the best European and international standards is a priority for him.

The members of the delegation of the Ministry of Justice spoke about the important reforms implemented by the agency, which are implemented by the National Agency for Crime Prevention, Non-custodial Sentences and Probation; In particular, the innovative device for the control and provision of services for probationers - PROBBOX, through which the control and services of probationers became possible without reporting to the probation offices. By means of this device, more anonymity of probationers is ensured and the geographical area of their control and service is increased. Regarding the PROBBOX, the Ministry of Justice is actively sharing its experience with partner countries.

During his speech, Rati Bregadze focused on such important reforms as: increasing the effectiveness of alternative punishments and execution of house arrests; Supporting the active involvement of persons sentenced for penal labor in the implementation of infrastructure projects of cities and municipalities throughout the country, and promoting/ensuring their employment after serving the sentence; Support for re-socialization and rehabilitation of convicts and ex-prisoners.

Within the framework of his official visit to Germany, the Minister of Justice met today with Chairperson of the Legal Committee of the German Bundestag, Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker. First Deputy Minister, Tamar Tkeshelashvili, Deputies, Buba Lomuashvili and Beka Dzamashvili, and Georgian ambassador to Germany, Levan Izoria also attended the meeting.

At the meeting, the minister said that for him, as for the head of the department of law-making activities, the directions of cooperation with the Legal Committee of the Bundestag and the Federal Ministry of Justice of Germany are particularly interesting.

During the meeting, the members of the delegation of the Ministry of Justice also noted that the modern Georgian legal space was formed under the influence of the values established in Germany. Accordingly, the legal institutions regulated by the legislation of Georgia and their components are clearly similar to the German legal system. According to the Minister of Justice, a great contribution to the creation of the legislation of independent Georgia was made by Georgian scientists, who at one time attended the German school of law and used the experience gained in the preparation of the legislative framework.

The Minister of Justice spoke about the fact that in Georgia, as in all other countries, the Ministry of Justice ensures, on the one hand, law-making activities, and on the other hand, the harmonization of Georgian legislation with international legal norms.

As the Chairperson of the Legal Committee of the German Bundestag noted, such important issues as: legal policy, legal state and democracy were discussed at the meeting. "We have a very high interest in Georgia. At the meeting, we got acquainted with the different directions of the activities of the Ministry of Justice, including digital services. We shared our experiences with each other and I think we will continue to do so with pleasure in the future," said Elizabeth Winkelmeier-Becker.

At the end of the meeting held in the Bundestag, Rati Bregadze noted that it is interesting for him to share German experience and learn about research activities. According to the Minister, the agency is working on a new prison code, and it will be important to get acquainted with the German practice on this issue in the format of cooperation.

During the meeting with the Deputy Dean of the Law Faculty of Humboldt University, Martin Heger, the Minister of Justice stated that for him, as for a graduate of the German Academy, the process of rapprochement of the Georgian-German academies is particularly important. Here he expressed his gratitude for the opportunity for Georgian students to study in Germany.

Rati Bregadze spoke about the fact that a law informatics course will be created on the basis of the Training Center of Justice. In Georgia, this direction of law is not taught at law faculties. During the meeting with the Minister of Justice, Martin Heger said that it would be interesting to involve the Humboldt University in this regard, as well as to share the German experience in the field of criminology.

Rati Bregadze also spoke about the strategic approach of the Ministry of Justice that in its daily activities, justice and rule of law projects are based on evidence, science, analytics and human rights-based approaches. To support this approach, the bilingual legal magazine Iustitia was founded in 2021, where scientific works are published; A memorandum of cooperation was signed with the Georgian Academy of Sciences; The scientific-advisory council under the Ministry of Justice was founded.

The Ministry of Justice signed memoranda with local universities. The students of the mentioned university will have the opportunity to practice in the Ministry of Justice, which in turn contributes to the attraction and development of intellectual resources.

First Deputy Minister of Justice, Tamar Tkeshelashvili and Deputies, Buba Lomuashvili and Beka Dzamashvili, and Ambassador of Georgia to Germany, Levan Izoria also attended the meeting held at Humboldt University.

Minister of Justice, Rati Bregadze along with his deputies and the Georgian Ambassador to Germany visited the Heidering Penitentiary facility. The delegation was introduced to the German model of management of the penitentiary system, programs of rehabilitation and re-socialization, education of convicts, sports and employment.

The parties shared their experience and existing knowledge in the direction of proper functioning of penitentiary services. Rati Bregadze spoke about the projects of the Ministry of Justice.

At the meeting, the concept of "digital university" was discussed in detail, which the German side was interested in. Through this project, convicts have the opportunity to participate remotely in the process of learning in higher education institutions in an online format. In the future, Georgia will cooperate with Germany in terms of sharing experience regarding the "digital university".

Within the framework of the visit, Rati Bregadze spoke about the innovative technological device PROBBOX created for probationers. This technological device integrates all the services for which the probationers had to go to the probation offices until now. Neighboring countries have already shown interest in these projects of the Ministry of Justice, and Georgia is ready to share this experience with them.

The development of the penitentiary and crime prevention system is one of the main priorities of the Ministry of Justice. The agency has specified specific measures in its 10-year development plan. Among them, new, Construction of small-scale family-type penitentiary areas, increasing the access of convicts to education, promotion of activities outside the convict cell, for which various important projects are implemented. The Ministry of Justice promotes the employment of prisoners and the acquisition of skills necessary for the future profession.