Head of the Department - Mikheil Mindadze

Deputy Head of the Department - Maia Mkhatvrishvili

The Department represents a primary structural unit of the Public Defender's Office of Georgia. In carrying out its functions, the Department shall act on behalf of the Public Defender of Georgia.

The purpose of the Department:

To coordinate the reception of persons concerned by the Public Defender's Office and provision of high-quality consultations, as well as primary consideration and response to applications and complaints received by the Office.

The main tasks of the Department of Citizen Service and Primary Response are to:

• check the compliance of applications received by the Office with the competence of the Public Defender and respond to them in a timely manner within the scope of authority;
• ensure prompt response to non-standard cases in the process of checking the compliance of applications with the competence of the Public Defender;
• provide high quality services to the citizens arriving at the Office or calling the hotline;
• provide legal consultation within the mandate of the Public Defender's Office;
• inform citizens of the mandate of the Public Defender;
• manage the circulation of documents of the Office.

The functions of the Department are to:

• regulate the circulation of documents of the Office, develop methodological instructions and supervise their implementation;
• keep a record of Office blanks with title (state coat of arms);
• keep a record of documents developed in the process of examination of cases, process and send them to the archives in accordance with the relevant rules;
• manage the operation of the archives of the Office;
• receive persons concerned in the Public Defender’s Office, inform and consult them and provide high quality services while performing these functions;

• explain the competence of the Public Defender of Georgia to persons concerned;
• ensure the smooth, continuous operation of the hotline of the Public Defender's Office;
• assess the severity of messages received by hotline and plan response, timely organize visits to the incident site;
• send a mobile group to the site of the alleged infringement, obtain comprehensive information and provide maximum support to persons concerned within the scope of authority and mandate;
• contact persons concerned and forward their calls to the relevant structural units of the Office;
• check the compliance of applications received by the Office with the competence of the Public Defender and respond to them in a timely manner within the scope of authority;
• ensure prompt response to non-standard cases in the process of checking the compliance of applications received by the Office with the competence of the Public Defender;
• perform other functions arising from the specifics of activities of the Department.

Hotline - 1481 - operates for 24 hours, including holidays and weekends, with the aim to introduce and facilitate the functioning of an effective mechanism of receiving information and responding to alleged violations of human rights and freedoms by state (public) institutions/bodies, in particular the allegations of torture and ill-treatment, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.