Deputy Minister of Justice, Beka Dzamashvili and Director of the Special Penitentiary Service, Nika Tshvarashvili held a meeting today with the Deputy Minister of Justice of Turkey.

Ramazan Jani is participating in the High-level International Conference in Tbilisi, Georgia. The event, the main theme of which is the innovative approaches introduced in the process of rehabilitation of inmates and probationers, is organized by the Ministry of Justice and the Special Penitentiary Service of Georgia, with the support of the European Organization of the Prison and Penitentiary System (EuroPris) and the US State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

The parties discussed the prospects of sectoral cooperation between Georgia and Turkey. The importance of signing a memorandum between the Training Center of Justice and the Academy of Justice of the Republic of Turkey, which envisages the holding of joint symposiums, conferences, workshops, trainings, seminars and the creation of joint digital learning platforms, was emphasized. The document is planned to be signed in November of this year.

Partnership relations between the Ministries of Justice of the two countries are developing especially intensively after the signing of the memorandum. The mutual cooperation document was signed by Rati Bregadze and Abdulhamit Gulthan.

The meeting between Minister of Justice of Georgia, Rati Bregadze and the Minister of Justice and Public Administration of the Republic of Croatia Ivan Malenitsa was held in Tbilisi within the framework of the current high-level international conference, the main theme of which is the innovations in the process of rehabilitation and resocialization of inmates and probationers.

High-ranking officials of 20 states, including ministers, deputy ministers, general directors of penitentiary and probation services, heads of international organizations and experts are participating in the event.

The Minister of Justice of Georgia and the Minister of Justice and Public Administration of the Republic of Croatia signed a joint statement, which envisages deepening of relations between the two countries in the direction of approximation of national legislation to EU law, electronic governance, as well as effective management of penitentiary systems and rehabilitation and resocialization of inmates. Workshops and trainings are planned to provide opportunity for sharing experience.

Deputy Ministers of Justice of Georgia also attended the meeting between Rati Bregadze and Ivan Malenitsa.

Rati Bregadze and Robin Dunnigan discussed the existing and future platforms of partnership relations between the two countries in the field of justice. The conversation touched upon the successful cooperation between Georgia and the USA in the fight against cross-border crimes and extradition. In order to further deepen the cooperation, it is planned to sign a bilateral agreement on extradition in the near future. Also, the Minister of Justice proposed to the American side to establish an annual legal forum between Georgia and the USA.

Rati Bregadze thanked the ambassador for the active support of the US for the ongoing reforms in the penitentiary and probation sectors of Georgia.

The parties also discussed the prospects of the high-level international conference (innovations in the process of rehabilitation and re-socialization of prisoners and probationers) to be held in Tbilisi on November 1-3, which is being held for the first time at the initiative of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, with the support of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and the European Organization of Prisons and Penitentiary System (EuroPris).

Deputy Minister of Justice, Beka Dzamashvili also attended the meeting.

First Deputy Minister of Justice, Tamar Tkeshelashvili, in her speech opening the Prague Process seminar, spoke about modern approaches in the field of migration management, digitalization and the importance of continuous cooperation and sharing of successful international practices between member states of the Prague Process.

The participants of the event were also addressed by the representatives of the European Union, the Prague Process Secretariat and the Czech Republic.

At the three-day international seminar - “Potential of Digitalization in the Context of Migration", the issues of using modern technologies and digital tools in migration management will be discussed.

The seminar in Tbilisi is organized by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia and the chairing agency of the Prague Process - the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Czech Republic, with the coordination of the Secretariat of the Prague Process - the International Center for the Development of Migration Policy and with the support of the European Union. Representatives of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, the countries involved in the Prague Process, as well as representatives of the UN and international organizations of the European region are participating in the event.

The Prague Process was established in 2009. It is a targeted migration dialogue and policy process that promotes cooperation in the field of migration between participating countries. The activities of the Prague Process will be conducted according to the declaration and the action plan of the ministers of its member countries. In 2022, the 2023-2027 action plan was approved at the 4th ministerial meeting of the Prague Process, the implementation of which is supported by the European Commission.

The Minister of Justice discussed the new issue of the Iustitia magazine together with the members of the Scientific Advisory Council and discussed the plans related to its future editions.

The editor-in-chief of the magazine, Advisor to the Minister of Justice, Mindia Ugrekhelidze, during the review of the materials published in the magazine, emphasized the role of the Legislative Herald of Georgia in the translation of the Georgian language versions of works recognized as classics.

The legal and practical aspects of the separation of administrative and civil contracts were also discussed at the meeting of the Scientific Advisory Council.

The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Justice, Tornike Cheishvili, members of the magazine's editorial board and the scientific advisory board, as well as other invited guests.

Electronic version of the magazine

The purpose of the competition is to promote the participation of civil society in the activities of the Ministry of Justice system and to support civil initiatives.

The priority areas of the program are:

• promoting the introduction of innovative services in the ministry system;
• strengthening of human rights protection;
• Strengthening legal security.

The amount intended for the program is half a million GEL, and the maximum amount of funding for each winning project is 30,000 GEL.

Non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities and individuals can submit grant proposals only electronically to the following address: granti@justice.gov.ge.

The application process started on October 20. The deadline for submitting documents is December 1, 2023.

The Ministry of Justice announces the grant competition every year. Last year, the agency funded 17 best projects.

The representatives of the Ministry regularly monitor and support the progress of the projects.

List of grant documentation

At the meeting of Rati Bregadze and of Ishizuka Hideki, the Georgian Minister proposed to the Japanese ambassador, specific initiatives, which provide for the sharing of experience between the two countries in terms of management of penitentiary and probation systems, as well as improvement of the sphere of service delivery through new technologies.

Deputy Minister of Justice, Beka Dzamashvili also attended the introductory meeting with the Japanese ambassador.

Deputy Minister of Justice, Beka Dzamashvili held a meeting today with the delegation of the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT).

The conversation touched on the measures implemented and planned by the Ministry of Justice and the Special Penitentiary Service in the direction of protecting the rights of prisoners and improving their conditions. Attention was focused on issues such as: the new Penal Code, re-socialization and rehabilitation programs available for prisoners, employment opportunities, construction of new small-scale institutions, etc.

The clearest indicator of the effectiveness of the already implemented reforms is the statistics of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), according to which, after 2012, the European Court has not received any cases sent from the Georgian penitentiary system, which confirms the high standard of protection of prisoners' rights in the country. In addition, according to official statistics, the total number of cases against Georgia in the European Court has decreased dramatically. In particular, by 2011, there were 3045 cases filed against Georgia in the proceedings of the European Court of Human Rights. For comparison, as of January 2023, this number has decreased to 147, which is 20 times less than the data of 2011.

According to the Deputy Minister, the reform of the penitentiary system will be actively continued in accordance with the 10-year strategy of the Ministry of Justice, within which the recommendations of the SPT will be taken into account.

The meeting was also attended by the representatives of the relevant departments of the Ministry of Justice and the Special Penitentiary Service.

It should be noted that the SPT delegation is visiting Georgia for the first time. The main function of the sub-committee, consisting of independent and impartial experts, is to introduce proactive and sustainable approaches to the prevention of torture and ill-treatment in UN member states. The sub-committee will also meet with other government agencies, the Public Defender's Office and representatives of the National Prevention Mechanism. Within the scope of the visit, SPT also visits penal institutions.

After the visit, the SPT will develop a report and issue recommendations regarding the treatment and protection of persons deprived of their liberty in relation to Georgia.

The visit of the delegation started today and will end on October 13.

The construction of the facility for 150 convicts, complying with international standards, will be completed in 2024.

A completely new type of institution for Georgia provides the possibility of more effective management of the prison. The new penitentiary institution in Rustavi will have modern cells, canteen, shop, sports infrastructure, re-socialization spaces, improved conditions for employees and the latest security systems.

Minister of Justice, Rati Bregadze and Head of the Special Penitentiary Service, Nika Tsvarashvili laid the symbolic capsule together with their employees.