ECtHR President Meets Georgian PM

Robert Spano, President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is visiting Georgia. On July 6, he met with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili to discuss continued cooperation between the Georgian judiciary and the Strasbourg-based court.

The meeting was also attended by Georgia’s national judge at ECHR Lado Chanturia, ECHR Head of Division Victor Soloveytchik, Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze, and the Head of the Georgian Government Administration, Revaz Javelidze.

After the meeting, the ECHR President stressed the importance of “discussing the recent developments and being able to assure the Georgian judiciary and the Georgian authorities that the Court and the Council of Europe continue on the path of increased cooperation and support.”

“It is a very important point in time for the President of the Court and the National Judge to be able to come to Georgia,” President Spano emphasized.

President Spano’s visit comes after the European Council gave Georgia a list of 12 recommendations to secure its EU candidacy, which includes adoption of the legislation that would ensure the Georgian courts proactively take into account ECHR judgments in their deliberations.

The Georgian Government’s press service reported that the officials also focused on ECHR’s landmark decision from January 2022 to recognize the fact of Russia’s occupation of and effective control over Georgia’s Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia regions. “Irakli Garibashvili reaffirmed the Georgian Government’s commitment to peaceful conflict resolution,” the press service reported.

According to the same press-release, the parties also discussed Georgia’s judiciary reform. “The years-long judiciary reforms have resulted in significant progress,” the Prime Minister emphasized, “though this is not enough, and the process of reforms continues.”

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