2016-10-25
The Government of Georgia today joins the EU in marking European Day of Justice, looking back on four years since the initiation of sweeping reforms which have overhauled Georgia's justice sector - with marked success across the board, as witnessed by international rankings.
Reforming the justice sector has been a cornerstone of Georgia's internal efforts to meet EU standards since 2012, following a negative track-record of corruption inherited from the previous government. Measures introduced include important steps in particular to put an end to corruption and to significantly increase the independence of judges.
Georgians today have access to a freer, fairer and more transparent justice system than at any point in recent history - the coercive plea bargaining system has been ended, trials are open to the public and to media, the rights of defendants and legal counsel have been increased, trial by jury is more accessible, pre-trial detention is better scrutinised and prisons have been reformed to provide better conditions for prisoners.
With these reforms Georgia has jumped 32 places since 2012 in the World Justice Project's Rule of Law index, and is now leader in the Eastern Europe/Central Asia region.