Georgia: The Law School of Ilia State University inaugurated a summer school on July 29, with the support of the USAID Rule of Law Program and Pravo Justice (a project supported by the European Union in Ukraine). The summer school took place in Tbilisi and Tsinandali for five days, from July 29 to August 3, 2024.
Students from various Georgian and Ukrainian universities, selected through a competitive process, had the opportunity to participate in the summer school, fostering a diverse and inclusive learning environment.
The school’s theme was issues related to the rule of law, judicial reforms, and challenges of democracy development in the world, especially in our region.
Professors and teachers from Iliauni, prominent representatives from various academic circles of Georgia, American, European, and Ukrainian professors, and current and former judges delivered lectures at the school. Students from different universities in Georgia and Ukraine were selected to participate through a competitive process.
The summer school aimed to enhance law students’ legal knowledge. The theme focused on the rule of law globally, particularly in the region, judicial reforms, and the challenges of democratic development.
The overarching goals of the summer school include:
- To promote the legal knowledge of the students of the represented law faculty.
- Improving students’ understanding of different types of democracies, the current Rule of Law crisis, and the trends of backsliding democracies in Eastern Europe and elsewhere.
- Discussing the concepts of transitional, backsliding, and illiberal democracies.
- Debating and analyzing the meaning of judicial reform, with a primary focus on vetting, pre-vetting, and traditional judicial reform measures.
- Exploring institutional arrangements and procedural guarantees essential for upholding the right to a fair trial and fostering adherence to international standards and best practices.
- Analyzing the resilience of democratic institutions during crises and developing strategies to fortify them against external threats and internal pressures.
