Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07TBILISI932
2007-04-25 12:12:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tbilisi
Cable title:  

Ambassador's meeting with High School of Justice and High

Tags:  PREL PGOV PHUM GG 
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VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSI #0932 1151212
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251212Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY TBILISI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6165
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 3910
RUEHRA/AMEMBASSY RIGA 0293
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0295
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 0027
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2118
UNCLAS TBILISI 000932 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, EUR/RPM, AND DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM GG
SUBJECT: Ambassador's meeting with High School of Justice and High
Council of Justice


UNCLAS TBILISI 000932

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, EUR/RPM, AND DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM GG
SUBJECT: Ambassador's meeting with High School of Justice and High
Council of Justice



1. Summary: Ambassador met with representatives of the Georgian
High School of Justice (HSOJ) and High Council of Justice to discuss
the HSOJ's progress on meeting the legislatively imposed deadline
for launching a fourteen-month training course for newly appointed
judges. With less then the six months to go before the October
deadline, the HSOJ has not yet finalized the curriculum nor retained
the instructors. Ambassador Tefft stressed the critical nature of
meeting the deadline for launching the mandatory course for the
Georgian Government to demonstrate progress in the area of judicial
reform to continue along the path to NATO membership. He also said
the US government is willing to provide assistance in promoting
judicial reform efforts. End Summary.


2. On April 20, Ambassador Tefft met with the Director of the HSOJ
David Saakashvili, Deputy Director Shota Rukhadze and the Secretary
of the High Council of Justice Valeri Tsertsvadze to discuss the
legislatively imposed deadline for launching the training course for
newly appointed judges. According to Rukhadze, the staff of the
school is still elaborating the curriculum, including by reviewing
different models from other countries such as Spain, France and
Latvia. Because the concept of the HSOJ is based on Western
European models (predominately the French system) the Council of
Europe is providing assistance in the development of the curriculum.
Rukhadze said the HSOJ asked the French for assistance, but he
added that the Georgians expect their HSOJ curriculum to most
closely resemble East European models. According to Saakashvili,
the HSOJ will devote two meetings to the issue of establishing the
curriculum. One will be held in Strasbourg and the broader one will
be held in Tbilisi with the participation of donor countries. The
HSOJ anticipates that a draft final curriculum will be shared with
the donor community in late June.


3. However, even if the curriculum is established, the HSOJ has not
yet identified or retained a sufficient number of qualified
instructors. According to Saakashvili, though the Georgians are
prepared to use judges as instructors, they recognize that most of
the judges are overwhelmed by their workload and have no time to
sufficiently prepare to lead the training. Tsertsvadze added that
High Council of Justice is trying to simplify the procedures and
legislation to assist judges. The Ambassador encouraged the
representatives of the HSOJ to consider retaining international
experts and/or hiring permanent staff to promote high quality
instruction rather than simply relying on judges to provide the
training. Saakashvili said he envisages using "permanent teaching
staff" in the future and is even considering using the Western
European model of seconded judges as trainers.


4. The representatives anticipate that the initial class at the
HSOJ will consist of 25 judges. They pointed out, however, that
this is not a sufficient number to fill the over 100 current
vacancies in the courts. According to Tsertsvadze, during the last
two years the High Council of Justice managed to appoint only
126-128 judges. In May, the High Council of Justice expects to
conduct qualification exams and to appoint 20-25 more judges. In
addition, after the training starts in the HSOJ, the new judges will
be appointed as magistrate judges upon the completion of the
theoretical part of the training, to provide them with practical
experience and to fill critical vacancies. However, according to
current plans, the fourteen-month course will not be conducted on a
rolling basis. Therefore, there may be a gap in filling all
vacancies in the judiciary since new judges must complete the
fourteen-month training before taking the bench. The Ambassador
once again stressed the critical nature of meeting the deadline for
launching the course.


5. At the end of the meeting, Ambassador Tefft once again offered
USG assistance in promoting judicial reform and for that purpose
asked that the representatives keep the Embassy informed about
developments and needs.

Tefft