As part of the official visit to Portugal, the delegation of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia visited today the Justice Hub, the Digitization Agency and the Justice Campus. The members of the delegation got acquainted with the existing model and system of providing state services, including online and digitized services. In addition, the parties shared information about electronic administration and innovations introduced in the public administration system in Georgia and Portugal.

The goal of establishing close partnership relations between the two countries in the field of digital governance is to increase the availability of state services. Within the framework of the visit to Portugal, the Minister of Justice of Georgia and the Secretary of State for Digitization and Administrative Modernization of Portugal also signed a joint declaration, which envisions the deepening of sectoral cooperation.

The document envisions the development of sectoral cooperation between the two countries and the sharing of experience in such important issues as: digital governance implementation policy and service development.

Before the signing of the joint declaration, the Minister of Justice in a meeting with the State Secretary noted that the modernization of the justice system through technologies and innovations is the cornerstone of all reforms implemented by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia and other institutions involved in the justice system.

The minister noted that the Ministry of Justice, as a public service provider, provides more than 470 services throughout the country on a one-stop basis, using digital tools, technologies and innovations.

The Minister also spoke about the introduction of the mobile application JustApp, through which all state services will be available online.

At the meeting, the Minister emphasized that the agency's priority is to continue working on digitalization of services, and sectoral cooperation and experience sharing with partner countries will contribute to the development of e-governance in both countries. On the way to joining the European Union, the strengthening of new areas of sectoral cooperation acquires special importance in the direction of convergence with European standards.

Deputy Minister of Justice, Beka Dzamashvili and Georgian Ambassador to Portugal Giorgi, Mirtskhulava also attended the meeting with Secretary of State, Mario Campolargo.

As part of the official visit to Portugal, a Georgia-Portugal memorandum was also signed; A meeting is planned at the Justice Campus in Lisbon.

Minister of Justice, Rati Bregadze visited the Carregueira prison during his visit to Portugal. The Minister inspected the infrastructure of the institution, got acquainted with the specifics of the operation of the penitentiary institution and held a meeting with Director General for Rehabilitation and Prison Services and Staff, Rui Abrunhosa Gonsalves.

The parties discussed such issues as: effective management of the penitentiary institution; Availability of rehabilitation, re-socialization, employment, educational programs and sports activities, etc.

The Georgian delegation received detailed information about the projects operating in the Portuguese penitentiary system and introduced Georgian innovations - "Re-Market" and "Digital University" to the Portuguese side. Rati Bregadze invited Rui Abrunhosa Gonsalves to the opening of a European-type penitentiary institution in Georgia - Laituri prison. The parties also agreed to organize joint trainings for employees.

The introduction of the best European and international standards in the fields of punishment and crime prevention is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia. For this purpose, the agency will continue to study the practices of partner countries in the future.

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 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 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.