On January 19, at Akaki Tsereteli State University in Kutaisi, the Director of the LEPL Legal Aid Service, David Simonia, presented the Service activity annual report for 2023.
The report states that the Service handled 14,410 criminal, 4,517 civil, and 1,901 administrative law matters in the previous year and provided consultation on 37,730 issues.
According to David Simonia, there is now a noticeable increase in the number of Georgians who have access to free legal aid. Six legal aid consultation centres have opened, one of which is in the village of Rukhi, close to the occupied zone.
In 2023, the "Mobile Consultation Centre" was launched with the same goal. It is a van particularly outfitted to allow for the provision of legal advice with confidentiality. The mobile consulting center travels to remote villages and makes both one-to-one counseling and drafting of legal documents available to the population.
Nine regional meetings and the consultation of over 500 persons were conducted as part of the project. 107 public meetings were held to increase the population's legal awareness; the Training Centre arranged 37 training sessions for attorneys and consultants; and the "Paralegal" project successfully continued, encompassing 33 public meetings and five moot courts. Approximately 1700 individuals in total attended the events.
Public attorneys and officials from the Service administration took part in several international gatherings last year. The attorneys have received specialized instruction regarding jury trials in the US.
It is particularly noteworthy that the "quality assessment system of services rendered by lawyers" of the LEPL Legal Aid Service was well regarded by worldwide legal circles, leading to multiple foreign delegations visiting Georgia to adopt this system in their countries.
David Simonia gave the invited visitors an overview of the Service's future plans.
He expressed gratitude to the representatives of donor and partner organizations (USAID/EWMI, UNDP, UNHCR, COE, UN OHCHR, INL) for their support and gave them special gifts.
Addressing the audience were Davit Asatiani, Chairman of the Bar Association, Razden Kuprashvili, Head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Irina Lortkipanidze, Coordinator of the USAID Rule of Law Programme,
Tornike Tsagareishvili, Coordinator of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Program, Beso Bokhashvili, Head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR) Program, and Ramaz Chinchaladze, Legal Aid Council member.
Upon the conclusion of the meeting, successful lawyers were awarded, nd the Service administration employees were thanked for their efforts.