On March 29, 2024, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), supported by the USAID Rule of Law Program, held a presentation to discuss the progress and key challenges regarding the accessibility of judicial acts in Georgia.

Giorgi Kldiashvili, Executive Director of IDFI, Levan Ioseliani, the Public Defender of Georgia, Otar Chakhunashvili the First Deputy Head of the Personal Data Protection Service and Corinne Rothblum, Acting Director of the Democracy, Rights and Governance Office at USAID/Caucasus welcomed the audience.

Following the opening remarks, the Head of the Constitutional Court’s Secretariat, Giorgi Lomtadze presented the main constitutional standards related to the accessibility of the judicial acts that was followed by the presentation of Giorgi Davituri, Head of IDFI's Rule of Law and Media Freedom Direction, who provided the audience with a comprehensive overview of the report’s key findings and recommendations.

IDFI’s new report delineates the evolution of policy changes leading up to the current state. It highlights that the legislative framework that entered into force on January 1, 2024, sets forth enhanced standards for accessing judicial acts through public information requests. However, monitoring the implementation of the new legal framework in practice reveals that the legislative amendments are not fully enforced. Specifically, as of February 29, 2024 all common courts of Georgia left the public information requests unanswered and as of March 26, 2024 eight courts provided the information only after the submission of administrative complaints. Furthermore, the proactive publication of the judicial acts at ecd.court.ge has not been renewed.

Representatives from local and international organizations, Common Courts, the Constitutional Court, the High Council of Justice, the Parliament, the Public Defender, the Personal Data Protection Service, and other state institutions as well as legal practitioners, academia and mass media were invited to participate in this event. 

Report: Accessibility of Judicial Acts: Progress and Key Challenges