On the 1st of December, a panel discussion was held on the issue of “Juvenile justice - challenges in Georgian legislation and judicial practice", within the scope of the Legal Aid Service project “Make the law accessible for All”.
The discussion was opened by the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Business and Law of Kutaisi University, Teona Grigolashvili. The Director of the Legal Aid Service, Razhden Kuprashvili welcomed the gathered students and the representatives of various human rights organizations.
During the discussion, the Chair of the Kutaisi City Court, Nikoloz Margvelashvili, spoke about the role and purpose of punishment for minors; The effectiveness of the juvenile diversion program was reviewed by a prosecutor specializing in juvenile justice, Irakli Shvangiradze; Head of the Kutaisi Legal Aid Bureau, Gela Siordia, shared his opinions with the audience on the rights of minors in criminal and administrative offense cases; The psychologist of the Legal Aid Service, Tamar Simonia, emphasized the necessity and significance of a special approach to children;
The report of Ksenia Meskhidze, the Representative of the Kutaisi office of the Public Defender of Georgia, was of special importance since it discussed the function and mandate of the Public Defender in cases of criminal and administrative offenses against minors.
Students actively participated in the discussion, expressed their opinions, and posed crucial questions to the panel members. The Head of the legal department of Kutaisi University, Sofia Kubaneishvili, summarized the meeting and noted that such discussions are of great importance for young people and the meetings will definitely continue within the framework of the memorandum signed last year between the Legal Aid Service and Kutaisi University.