Armenia and Georgia to establish closer ties in justice sector — Recap of Armenian-Georgian Legal Forum

After the Armenian-Georgian Legal Forum, the Ministries of Justice of Armenia and Georgia reached an agreement to establish closer ties in the justice sector. During the closing ceremony of the Forum, Deputy Minister of Justice of Armenia Karen Karapetyan expressed gratitude to his colleagues for the two-day fruitful work and for the opportunity to exchange views. The Deputy Minister mentioned that the parties had the opportunity to discuss the latest developments in the legal sector in both countries, the alternative methods for settlement of disputes, the innovations being applied in the penitentiary and probation sectors, the protection of the rights of the child and the interconnection between extradition and asylum procedures. The Forum also touched upon the judicial system and the role of lawyers in this area. The parties agreed to strengthen co-operation between the Ministry of Justice of Armenia and the Human Rights Secretariat of the Staff of the Government of Georgia and to continue exchange of experience in regard to the field and practice of anti-discrimination legislation. Importance was attached to the active co-operation between the Centre and the Mediators Association of Georgia, as well as the organising of joint trainings with the involvement of international colleagues. An agreement was also reached on the exchange of experience in the application of electronic mediation tools. In the penitentiary and probation sectors, importance was attached to the exchange of experience related to fingerprint readers, which are the prototype of the probox equipment for probation beneficiaries, as well as the organising of joint trainings for penitentiary officers at the Saakadze Training Base in Georgia. An agreement was also reached to consider the possibility of signing a Memorandum of Co-operation between the Personal Data Protection Agency of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia and the Personal Data Protection Service of Georgia. The two Ministries of Justice agreed to establish co-ordination mechanisms to advance the effective and fast-paced consideration of child abduction cases. It is planned to explore the activities carried out in the area of notary and electronic bankruptcy systems, taking into consideration the already successful Georgian experience in these areas. Having regard to the successful and positive Georgian experience in the approximation and harmonisation of domestic legislation and practice with the EU system, importance was attached to the deepening of co-operation in this area as well. Karen Karapetyan expressed gratitude to the delegation led by the Minister of Justice of Georgia for the visit to Armenia and voiced hope that this co-operation will foster development of the justice systems of both countries. The next Armenian-Georgian Legal Forum will be held in Georgia.