On June 12, as part of an effort to support the development of a more independent judges association, EWMI-JILEP sent five representatives of the Judges Association of Georgia (JAG) to Poland to meet with representatives of the Polish Judges Association, Iustitia. The five Georgian judges - Paata Silagadze, Ketevan Dugladze, Giorgi Chemia, Shorena Jankhotely, and Khatuna Bolkvadze met with their Polish counterparts to learn how Iustitia was able to build a dynamic and independent judges association in the wake of the communist system collapse. During their visit, the Georgian judges learned what steps Iustitia took to make themselves a force for legal reform and how Polish judges were able to unite together to make the judiciary more independent. During the trip, Georgian judges also visited important judicial institutions in Poland including the National Judicial Council, the Supreme Court of Poland, the Lublin District and Regional Courts, the Center for Training for Judges and Prosecutors at the Ministry of Justice, and the new E-Court in Lublin. The specially designed program was directed in part by Polish Supreme Court Justice Maria Teresa Romer, the Founding President of Iustitia.
Georgian Judges Learn from Polish Experience