Information Campaign on Arbitration Kicks Off in Georgia

TELAVI. 5 June 2017 – Alternative Dispute Resolution as an effective tool for citizens, businesses and legal professionals will be the focus of an information campaign to kick off in June 2017 in eight Georgian cities. The campaign is initiated by the Georgian International Arbitration Centre (GIAC) and will be supported by the European Union (EU) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with contributions from the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).

The campaign was announced on June 5, 2017, at the first workshop in Telavi, east Georgia. The event brought together representatives of local businesses and lawyers. Nino Chikovani, President of the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), and Shombi Sharp, Deputy Head of UNDP in Georgia, opened the event. This was followed by a presentation by Beka Injia, GIAC Secretary-General, who spoke about the importance of Alternative Dispute Resolution for legal environment and business development, and introduced activities of the Georgian International Arbitration Centre (GIAC).

 Liana Kartsivadze, legal expert of the European Union and United Nations programme “Justice for All”, addressed procedural aspects of arbitration and noted international experience in this area.

The seminar participants also discussed the new Fast Track Arbitration Rules tailor-made by the Georgian International Arbitration Centre (GIAC) for speedy and effective dispute resolution. The information campaign will run until July 30, 2017, with a series of similar workshops in Gori, Akhaltsikhe, Zugdidi, Poti, Ozurgeti, Batumi and Kutaisi.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) helps disputing parties come to an agreement short of litigation. The rising popularity of ADR can be attributed to the increasing caseload of courts, higher level of confidentiality and lower costs than in litigation cases. Arbitration is one of the most commonly used ADR mechanisms particularly favoured by businesses. Despite the obvious advantages, ADR awareness in Georgia is still extremely low, which has become the main reason behind the information campaign initiated by the Georgian International Arbitration Centre (GIAC).

The European Union and UNDP promote Alternative Dispute Resolution in Georgia within the framework of their project to ensure better accessibility, quality and scope of free legal aid and payable legal services as well as alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including arbitration and mediation. This project is part of the comprehensive EU4Justice Programme, a cooperation framework between Georgia and the European Union in the justice sector with a current EU budget allocation of EUR 50 million, which also includes cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, prosecutorial, judiciary and penitentiary institutions.