September 2010
The ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) will have trained about 1,200 Georgian defense attorneys by the end of September 2010 in the country’s new Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), which paves the way for transition to an adversarial justice system. The trainings, which began early this year, have reached nearly half of the country’s defense attorneys. To broaden the trainings’ reach in advance of the CPC’s October implementation, the program trains Georgian lawyers to train their peers.
The July training-of-trainers workshop was attended by 20 lawyers and covered evidence, defense tactics, jury selection, and court rules, as well as teaching methodologies to enhance their own trainings. The five-day workshop included lectures, demonstrations, group exercises and take-home assignments. Those trained will later lead 48 workshops to train the remaining 1,800 Georgian defense attorneys.
Another training-of-trainers session on criminal law will emphasize the use of forensic evidence and expert testimony. The trainers will in turn lead 31 workshops to train their peers through the end of March 2012. To help Georgian lawyers thoroughly prepare for an adversarial system, ABA ROLI conducts trial advocacy skills trainings and hosts mock trial competitions that further hone the lawyers’ skills.
Each of these efforts, including an additional program that will focus on continuing legal education in Georgia, are funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
To learn more about our work in Georgia, contact the ABA Rule of Law Initiative at <[email protected]>.