Law of Georgia on the High School of Justice

LAW OF GEORGIA

ON THE HIGH SCHOOL OF JUSTICE

Chapter I – General Provisions

Article 1 – Status, purpose and functions of the High School of Justice

1. The High School of Justice ('the School'), as a Legal Entity under Public Law (LEPL), shall be established on the basis of this Law.

2. The purpose of the School is to train trainees of justice to be appointed as judges within the Common Court system of Georgia. The objective of the School is to extend theoretical knowledge to the trainees of justice and to develop skills necessary in their practical work, also to ensure that trainees of justice perceive their future responsibilities and freedom of action within limits determined by the law, and to contribute to the gradual integration of trainees of justice into the social environment where they will have to work as judges.

3. The School also intends to retrain meeting judges to improve their proficiency, as well as to train and retrain candidates for judge assistants and other specialists in order to staff the Common Courts system of Georgia with highly qualified specialists.

Law of Georgia No 5845 of 11 March 2008 – LGH I, No5, 22.3.2008, Art. 12

Chapter II – Management and Structure of the School

Article 2 – Management of the School

The School shall be governed by an independent board and the directorate.

Article 3 – Procedure for establishment of the independent board and its powers

1. The independent board of the School ('the independent board') shall define the focus areas of School activities, and coordinate and monitor their implementation. The independent board shall be composed of six members.

2. An independent board member may be any citizen of Georgia with a higher education and qualification and professional experience sufficient to perform functions of an independent board member, as determined by this Law.

2¹. The Chairperson of the Supreme Court of Georgia may not be a member of the independent board.

3. The chairperson of the independent board, who is also a member of the independent board, shall be elected for the term of three years by the Conference of Judges of Georgia from among its members. The same person may be elected as a chairperson of the independent board only for two consecutive terms.

4. Five members of the independent board, one of whom being a non-judge member of the High Council of Justice of Georgia, shall be approved by the High Council of Justice of Georgia for a period of three years based on the recommendation of the chairperson of the independent board.

5. Deleted

6. The independent board shall elect a deputy chairperson of the independent board from among its members.

7. The independent board shall:

a) develop and approve the statute of the School;

b) develop and approve procedures for drafting the budget of the School;

c) hear the annual report of the School director on performance of the School;

d) upon recommendation of the School director, the Board shall:

d.a) approve internal regulations of the School;

d.b) approve and submit the School budget according to the legislation of Georgia;

d.c) deleted;

d.d) approve the staff list of the School;

d.e) deleted;

d.f) approve the salary schedule and the amount of labour remuneration, as well as the amount of state scholarship for trainees of justice;

d.g) select a deputy director and internship supervisor;

d.h) approve the training (theoretical courses and seminars), internship and retraining curricula;

d.i) approve curricula for the theoretical courses and final School examinations;

d.j) approve a qualifying list of trainees of justice;

e) exercise other powers provided in this Law and the Statute of the School.

8. The issue on remuneration of persons under the third and fourth paragraphs of this article for their activities performed within the independent board shall be resolved in accordance with restrictions determined by the legislation of Georgia.

Law of Georgia No 5845 of 11 March 2008 – LGH I, No5, 22.3.2008, Art. 12

Law of Georgia No 582 of 1 May 2013 – website, 20.5.2013

Article 3¹ – Relieving an independent board member of his/her powers

1. Grounds for relieving an independent board member may be:

a) a personal application;

b) the dismissal from a position he/she was holding at the moment of appointment to the independent board;

c) the failure to exercise powers for more than six consecutive months;

d) a court’s decision declaring him/her as having limited capacity to contract, or missing or dead, or recognising him/her as a beneficiary of support, unless otherwise determined under court decision;

e) a court judgement of guilt against him/her entering into force;

f) the loss of citizenship of Georgia;

g) expiration of the term of office;

h) death.

2. The High Council of Justice of Georgia shall dismiss an independent Board member upon application of the Chairperson of the independent Board and the Conference of Judges of Georgia shall dismiss the Chairperson of the independent Board.

3. (Deleted – 1.5.2013, No 582)

Law of Georgia No 5845 of 11 March 2008 – LGH I, No5, 22.3.2008, Art. 12

Law of Georgia No 582 of 1 May 2013 – website, 20.5.2013

Law of Georgia No 3370 of 20 March 2015 – website, 31.3.2015

Article 4 – Meeting of the independent Board

1. A meeting of the independent board shall be called at least twice a year. The Chairperson of the independent Board shall chair a Board meeting and the deputy chairperson shall chair a Board meeting in the absence of the Chairperson.

2. The School director shall attend a meeting of the independent board School with the right of deliberative vote.

3. A Board meeting shall be duly constituted if attended by a majority of the independent Board members. Decisions shall be taken by the majority of attending Board members. In case of a tie vote, the preferential right to vote shall be granted to the chairperson of the meeting.

4. The opinion and the decision of the independent board shall be drawn up in the form of protocols and signed by the chairperson and the secretary of the meeting.

5. The procedure for arranging, calling and conducting a meeting of the independent board shall be determined by a regulation of the independent board to be developed and approved by the independent board.

Article 5 – The administration of the School

1. The administration of the School shall be comprised of the director, his/her deputy and the internship supervisor.

2. The School director shall be elected by the independent board for five years according to the procedures defined by the Statute of the School.

3. A citizen of Georgia who has attained the age of 25 with higher legal education and a minimum of three years professional work experience may be elected as the School director. Additional requirements may be determined by the Statute of the School for holding the position of a School director.

4. A person may be elected as the School director for two consecutive terms only.

5. A deputy School director and an internship supervisor shall be elected for five-year terms. A person may be elected as a deputy School director or an internship supervisor for only two consecutive terms. Election of a new School director shall require termination of the powers of the deputy School director and the internship supervisor.

6. The authority and rules of procedure of the School administration shall be determined by this Law and the Statute of the School.

Article 6 – Powers of the School director

The School director shall:

a) represent the School; ensure functioning of the School, conduct of training and retraining courses for trainees of justice;

b) ensure enforcement of the independent board decisions;

c) submit the training, internship and retraining curricula to the independent Board for approval, in agreement with the School administration and the board of teachers;

d) carry out administrative functions within the School building;

e) exercise other powers provided in this Law and the Statute of the School.

Article 7 – Powers of the deputy School director and internship supervisor

1. A deputy School director shall ensure implementation of the training and retraining curricula. His/her powers in the area of the training courses (except for internship) and retraining shall be determined by this Law and the Statute of the School.

2. An internship supervisor shall ensure implementation of internship curricula. His/her powers in the area of the internship shall be determined by this Law and the Statute of the School.

Article 8 – Dismissal of the School director, deputy School director and internship supervisor

1. The grounds for dismissing a School director, a deputy School director and an internship supervisor shall be:

a) personal application

b) gross and systematic breach of internal regulations of the School

c) violation of conditions provided in the Statute of the School

d) a court’s decision declaring them as having limited capacity to contract, or missing or dead, or recognising them as beneficiaries of support, unless otherwise determined under court decision

e) a court's judgement of guilt against them entering into force

f) the loss of citizenship of Georgia

g) the expiration of the term of office

h) death

i) other cases provided in this Law and the Statute of the School.

2. The independent board shall dismiss the School director, the deputy School director and the internship supervisor.

Law of Georgia No 5845 of 11 March 2008 – LGH I, No5, 22.3.2008, Art. 12

Law of Georgia No 3370 of 20 March 2015 – website, 31.3.2015

Article 9 – The structure of the School

The structure of the School and rules of procedure of its structural units shall be determined under the Statute of the School.

Law of Georgia No 5845 of 11 March 2008 – LGH I, No5, 22.3.2008, Art. 12

Chapter III – Funding of the School

Article 10 – The budget of the School

1. Costs related to School activities shall be separately included in the budget for the Common Courts.

2. In order to perform functions defined under this Law, the School, based on an independent Board decision, may gain financial income or material assistance as allowed by the legislation of Georgia.

Law of Georgia No 5845 of 11 March 2008 – LGH I, No5, 22.3.2008, Art. 12

Chapter IV – Admission to the School

Article 11 – Admission to School as trainees of justice on a competitive basis

1. Admission to School as trainees of justice shall be implemented on a competitive basis.

2. A competition for School admission shall typically be conducted twice a year – in May and October.

3. The High Council of Justice of Georgia shall decide to conduct a competition for School admission taking into account the number of judges within the common court system of Georgia.

4. The decision of the High Council of Justice of Georgia to conduct a competition for School admission additionally at another time of year must be announced at least one month before the competition.

Law of Georgia No 5845 of 11 March 2008 – LGH I, No5, 22.3.2008, Art. 12

Article 12 – Participants of competition

Any legally competent citizen of Georgia with no criminal record who, under the Law of Georgia on Legal Education, has passed the state certification examination ('certification examination') within the past seven years shall be eligible to participate in a competition for admission to the School.

Article 13 – The process of conducting competition

1. The High Council of Justice of Georgia shall conduct a competition for School admission.

2. The form of competition, registration of candidates for trainees of justice, their selection criteria and other issues regarding the process of conducting the competition shall be defined under the Statute of the School.

Law of Georgia No 5845 of 11 March 2008 – LGH I, No5, 22.3.2008, Art. 12

Article 14 – Total number of trainees of justice to be admitted to School

The independent Board shall approve the total number of trainees of justice to be admitted to School upon recommendation of the High Council of Justice of Georgia before announcing a competition.

Law of Georgia No 5845 of 11 March 2008 – LGH I, No5, 22.3.2008, Art. 12

Chapter V – The Status of Trainees of Justice

Article 15 – The status of a trainee of justice

A trainee of justice shall be a person who, as a result of the competition, has been admitted to the School for studying by the decision of the High Council of Justice of Georgia and has been granted a certificate as a trainee of justice.

Article 16 – The state scholarships of trainees of justice

While studying at the School, a trainee of justice shall receive a state scholarship the amount of which may not be less than one fourth of the minimal salary of a judge of the first instance court.

Law of Georgia No 5845 of 11 March 2008 – LGH I, No5, 22.3.2008, Art. 12

Article 17 – Disciplinary liability of a trainee of justice

1. A trainee of justice shall be obligated to adhere to the disciplinary standards.

2. Violation of the disciplinary standards by a trainee of justice shall entail one of the following disciplinary liabilities:

a) warning

b) reprimand

c) withholding of a state scholarship for up to 10 days

d) expulsion from the School

3. A disciplinary liability of a trainee of justice must be proportional to the disciplinary misconduct. Types of disciplinary misconduct and procedures for disciplinary prosecution shall be determined by this Law and the internal regulation of the School.

4. The administration of the School shall review and resolve the issue of disciplinary liability of a trainee of justice.

5. The School administration may prematurely discharge a trainee of justice from disciplinary liability if he/she commits no further disciplinary misconduct and proves himself/herself to be an honest trainee of justice.

6. If no additional disciplinary liability is applied to a trainee of justice within seven months after imposition of a disciplinary liability, it shall be considered as if no disciplinary liability has been imposed on him/her.

Law of Georgia No 5845 of 11 March 2008 – LGH I, No5, 22.3.2008, Art. 12

Article 18 – Inclusion of training period in the length of professional work experience

The training period shall be included in the length of professional work experience of a trainee of justice.

Chapter VI – Training Process at School

Article 19 – Duration of the training

1. The training period at the School shall be 10 months. A full training course shall include a theoretical course, internship and seminars.

2. The duration of a full training course shall be six months for a trainee of justice who has at least 10 years’ experience working as Head of a structural subdivision of the Administration of the High Council of Justice of Georgia, head of Administration of a common court of Georgia or its structural subdivision, a judge’s assistant, a secretary of a court session, an investigator, a prosecutor and/or a lawyer.

3. Duration of the theoretical course, internship and seminars shall be determined by the Statute of the School.

Law of Georgia No 5845 of 11 March 2008 – LGH I, No5, 22.3.2008, Art. 12

Law of Georgia No 3960 of 10 December 2010 – LGH I, No73, 23.12.2010, Art. 440

Law of Georgia No 4788 of 17 June 2011 – website, 28.6.2011

Article 20 – School subjects

Trainees of justice shall study:

a) legal proceedings before courts of the first instance

b) legal proceedings before the courts of appeals

c) legal proceedings before the court of cassation

d) qualification matters in civil, administrative and criminal law

e) drafting a procedural document (decision) during judicial examination

f) professional ethics

g) discipline of human rights and freedoms

h) a foreign language

i) also other subjects, the list of which shall be approved by the independent Board upon recommendation of the School director.

Article 21 – Methods of training

The methods of training at School shall be seminars, simulation of judicial proceedings, discussion, study of issues on how to make a court decision and substantiate it, and other methods approved by the independent Board upon recommendation of the School director.. The training curricula may also include short-term business trips of trainees of justice to a court and prosecutor's office.

Article 22 – School teachers, the board of teachers

1. The School teachers shall manage the training process of trainees of justice at the School.

2. A labour contract shall be concluded with a School teacher for a definite term but limited to a maximum of two years.

3. School teachers shall comprise the board of teachers.

4. The deputy School director shall regularly call and chair meetings of the board of teachers.

5. The powers and rules of procedure of the board of teachers shall be determined by this Law and the Statute of the School.

6. To train the trainees of justice, specialists, including foreign experts in various fields of law and in related disciplines may be periodically invited. Procedures and conditions for their invitation, working and labour remuneration shall be approved by the independent Board upon recommendation of the School director.

Article 23 – Final examination of the theoretical course and procedure for its conduct

1. Upon completion of theoretical course, trainees of justice shall take an examination to evaluate their theoretical knowledge acquired during the training period.

2. The independent Board shall approve the composition of an examination commission upon recommendation of the School director.

3. The procedure and conditions for conducting an examination, as well as the evaluation system of the examination results shall be determined by the Statute of the School.

4. The Statute of the School shall determine appropriate measures in case of failure to pass an examination within the established period.

Article 24 – Internship of a trainee of justice. Types of internship

1. After passing the final examination of the theoretical course, a trainee of justice shall serve an internship.

2. Types of internship shall be compulsory and alternative internships.

3. Compulsory internship shall be served in the Common Courts, and alternative internship shall be served at notary offices, prosecutor's office or other administrative bodies the list of which shall be approved by the independent Board upon recommendation of the School director.

4. Trainees of justice shall be assigned to serve an alternative internship if they desire to do so.

Article 25 – The internship supervisor and internship coordinator

1. The School director, upon recommendation of the internship supervisor, shall appoint internship coordinators to the agencies referred to in Article 24(3).

2. An internship coordinator may be a judge, a prosecutor or an institution head officer.

3. An internship coordinator shall:

a) manage and supervise the internship process of a trainee of justice;

b) at the end of a compulsory internship, grant to each trainee of justice assigned to him/her a qualifying score and give a letter of reference;

c) at the end of an internship, submit to an internship supervisor a report on completion of the internship programme.

4. Types of tasks to be performed by a trainee of justice during the internship shall be determined by the internship programme.

5. The internship evaluation system and the procedure for granting a qualifying score shall be determined under the Statute of the School.

Article 26 – A written report and work prepared by a trainee of justice

At the end of a compulsory internship, a trainee of justice shall prepare a written report on the work he/she has performed; also, he/she shall write a work on the operation of an internship body, problems existing therein and the ways to solve them. The written report and work shall be submitted to the internship supervisor, sealed and attached to the personal file of a trainee of justice.

Article 27 – Seminars

1. At the end of the internship, the School shall conduct seminars for trainees of justice. The purpose of such seminars shall be generalisation of the knowledge and experience acquired during the theoretical course and the internship. The seminars shall also intend to train the trainees of justice for a final examination.

2. The School teachers or invited specialists shall conduct seminars.

Law of Georgia No 3960 of 10 December 2010 – LGH I, No73, 23.12.2010, Art. 440

Article 28 – Final examination of the School

1. At the end of the training period at the School, a trainee of justice shall take an examination that is intended to evaluate the theoretical knowledge and practical experience acquired by the trainee of justice.

2. The examination shall be conducted in written form. A trainee shall be given a specific case from case law and be assigned to draft procedural documents for it.

3. The examination shall be conducted by a commission composed of:

a) a judge of the Supreme Court

b) a member of the High Council of Justice of Georgia

c) a law professor of the State University

d) three members appointed by the independent Board

e) the director of the Hugh School of Justice.

4. Members of the commission referred to in paragraph 3(a,b,c) of this article shall be approved by the Independent Board.

5. The member referred to in paragraph 3(a) of this article shall be nominated for approval by a Chairperson of the Supreme Court of Georgia; the member referred to in paragraph 3(b) of this article shall be nominated for approval by the High Council of Justice of Georgia; and the member referred to paragraph 3(c) of this article shall be nominated for approval by the Minister for Justice of Georgia.

6. The procedure and conditions for conducting an examination, as well as the evaluation system of the examination results shall be determined by the Statute of the School.

7. The Statute of the School shall determine appropriate measures in case of failure to pass the examination within the established period.

Chapter VII – The qualifying list of trainees of justice

Article 29 – Compiling the qualifying list

The School director shall submit the qualifying list of trainees of justice to the independent Board for approval within one month after the final examination at the School.

Article 30 – Criteria for compiling the qualifying list

1. When compiling the qualifying list, a coefficient shall be used to sum:

a) the score received by a trainee of justice when passing a qualifying examination or any examination equated to it under this Law;

b) the score received when passing the final examination of the theoretical course at School;

c) the score received during the internship;

e) the score received when passing the final examination at the School.

2. The total score received by a trainee of justice shall be calculated according to procedures established by the Statute of the School.

Article 31 – Consideration of the independent Board evaluation when selecting a candidate for the position of a judge

When selecting a candidate for judge, consideration shall be given to the position number of the trainee of justice on the qualifying list, as well as to the independent board evaluation which includes:

a) the evaluation of results of the final examination of theoretical course

b) the evaluation of the internship results

c) the evaluation of results of seminars

d) the evaluation the final examination results at the School

e) the assessment of an internship supervisor

f) the assessment of the School teachers

g) the evaluation of a written report and work prepared by a trainee of justice during the internship

h) the assessment of the discipline of a trainee of justice.

Law of Georgia No 1328 of 26 June 2009 – LGH I, No 15, 6.7.2009, Art. 76

Chapter VIII – Retraining Courses

Article 32 – The purpose of retraining

1. The School shall develop and implement annual retraining programmes.

2. The retraining shall be intended to upgrade qualifications of persons eligible under this Law to participate in the retraining by way of providing information on legislative and other innovations in the fields of law and science; adaptation to new social and legal realities; generalising and sharing practical experience, including case-law of courts in foreign states.

Article 33 – Methods and curriculum of retraining

1. The retraining shall be carried out through holding various seminars, training courses and conferences, theoretical and practical exercises, and discussions.

2. The retraining process shall be led by the School teachers.

3. For retraining purposes, specialists, including foreign experts in various fields of law and in related disciplines may be invited. Procedures and conditions for their invitation, working and labour remuneration shall be determined by the Statute of the School.

4. The deputy School director, in agreement with the Board of Teachers, shall make a schedule of activities to be carried out within the retraining courses and shall submit it to the School director. The School director shall review the schedule and submit it to the independent Board for approval in October each year.

5. When drawing up the retraining curriculum, the School shall apply to chairpersons of a court of the first instance, the Court of Appeals and the court of cassation for recommendations.

Article 34 – The right of an active judge to be retrained

1. After the programme of annual retraining activities is published, a retraining applicant shall apply to the School administration for taking part in a planned activity. The application must indicate why the applicant has interest in participating in the specific activity.

2. The School administration shall be obligated to review and respond to an application of a retraining applicant within the period established by the legislation of Georgia but not later than two weeks before commencement of a retraining activity.

3. Refusal of an application for participation in the retraining by the School administration must be substantiated.

4. The procedure and conditions for conducting a retraining course and participating in it shall be determined by the Statute of the School.

Article 35 – Participation of prosecutors, lawyers and other persons in the retraining activity

The procedure for admitting prosecutors, lawyers and other persons to participate in an activity planned within the retraining courses shall be determined by the Statute of the School.

Chapter IX – Special Procedure for Selection of Judges

Article 36 – Release from taking training at School

A person nominated for election as judge of the Supreme Court of Georgia, also a former judge, who has passed a judicial qualification examination, held the position of a judge at the Supreme Court of Georgia or a district (city) court and/or the Court of Appeals on a competitive basis and has at least 18 months judicial work experience, shall be released from taking training at School to hold judicial office. A person who has taken a full training course and has been put on the qualifying list of trainees of justice shall be released from taking training at School regardless of the term he/she held judicial office or whether or not he/she was appointed to that position after finishing the School.

Law of Georgia No 1328 of 26 June 2009 – LGH I, No 15, 6.7.2009, Art. 76

Law of Georgia No 2258 of 4 December 2009 – LGH I, No41, 8.12.2009, Art. 301

Chapter X – Transitional Provisions

Article 37 – The procedure for holding judicial office until approval of the first qualifying list of trainees of justice

1. Until the first qualifying list of trainees of justice is approved by the independent Board, judges shall be appointed according to the existing procedures under the legislation of Georgia.

2. Upon approval of the first qualifying list of trainees of justice by the independent Board the standards of the legislation of Georgia that establish the procedure for appointing judges shall be brought in line with this Law.

3. After the first qualifying list of trainees of justice is approved by the independent Board only those persons who meet the requirements established by the Organic Law of Georgia on Common Courts and this Law may be appointed as judges..

Law of Georgia No 1328 of 26 June 2009 – LGH I, No 15, 6.7.2009, Art. 76

Law of Georgia No 2258 of 4 December 2009 – LGH I, No41, 8.12.2009, Art. 301

Article 38 – Equation of the qualification examination to the certification examination

1. Any legally competent citizen of Georgia with no criminal record, who has passed the state qualification examination and within the past seven years shall be eligible to participate in a competition for admission to the School.

2. Deleted

3. Deleted

4. Deleted

Law of Georgia No 1328 of 26 June 2009 – LGH I, No 15, 6.7.2009, Art. 76

Law of Georgia No 2258 of 4 December 2009 – LGH I, No41, 8.12.2009, Art. 301

Article 39 – Termination of the Judicial Training Centre and establishment of the School
1. According to the procedures determined by the legislation of Georgia, the Judicial Training Centre shall be terminated and the School shall be established on its material and technical basis and the Statute of the School shall be approved before 1 April 2006.

2. Until the first qualifying list of trainees of justice is approved, the School shall perform functions of the Judicial Training Centre according to existing procedures under the legislation of Georgia.

Article 39¹ – The period of the full training curriculum for trainees of justice admitted to the School before 1 January 2011

The period of full training curriculum for trainees of justice admitted to the School before 1 January 2011 shall be 12 months. This period shall be eight months if there are grounds under Article 19(2) of this Law.

Law of Georgia No 3960 of 10 December 2010 – LGH I, No73, 23.12.2010, Art. 440

Law of Georgia No 4788 of 17 June 2011 – website, 28.6.2011

Chapter XI – Final Provisions

Article 40 – The list of invalid acts

The following shall be considered invalid as from 1 January 2007:

a) Edict No 697 of 27 November 1997 of the President of Georgia on the Procedure for Conducting Judicial Qualification Examination and Approval of Qualification Examination Programme.

b) Edict No 696 of 27 November 1997 of the President of Georgia on Approval of the Regulation of Judicial Qualification Examination Commission.

Article 41 – Entry into force

1. This Law, except as provided in the second and third paragraphs of this article, shall enter into force upon promulgation.

2. Chapters IV–VII and Article 38(1) of this Law shall enter into force as from 1 January 2007.

3. Chapter IX and Article 38(2-4) of this Law shall take effect upon entry into force of the appropriate amendments made to the Organic Law of Georgia on Common Courts of Georgia based on this Law.

President of Georgia                                                                                                                                            M. Saakashvili

Tbilisi

28 December 2005

No 2602-ES