On 29 and 30 October, a training-for-trainers took place in the Tskaltubo-based branch of the High School of Justice (HSOJ). Six judges from city and appeal courts in Akhaltsikhe, Batumi and Tbilisi discussed migration-related aspects of Georgia’s criminal and administrative codes. Theoretical presentations and practical case studies focused on crimes, such as smuggling of migrants and illegal border crossing, as well as effective judicial practices as concerns administrative misdemeanours, such as detention of irregular migrants, their expulsion and reviews of appeals against negative decisions on issuance of residence permits and other migration-related procedures.

This activity is part of IOM’s broad engagement with the judiciary in Georgia to build up specialized knowledge on migration-related issues, thus creating a pool of specialists in the judiciary who will be involved in presiding over  above-mentioned types of court hearings. The end result of IOM’s involvement in this process will be an educational module for the HSOJ to incorporate in its overall curriculum.

This training was part of the IOM-led project “Border Management and Migration Action in Georgia (BMMAG”), which is funded by the Resilience Facility of the European Union.

For more information: https://www.hsoj.ge/geo/media_center/news/1666-2022-10-31-tot-migraciastan-dakavshirebuli