On May 11-12, 2016, a training was held for journalists within the framework of the Human Rights Academy of the Public Defender in the town of Borjomi. The theme of the training was: "Improvement of Reporting Skills on the Cases Related to Georgia in International Courts”. The mandate of international courts and functional modalities, as well as the content, process and outcome of the consideration of Georgia-related cases, were discussed at the meeting.

The training course consisted of lectures and specific cases. Among the topics discussed were: general overview of the mandate and activities of the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the interstate complaint filed by Georgia against Russia in 2008 with regard to the ethnic discrimination of Georgians in the occupied territories and their expulsion on ethnic grounds; general overview of the International Criminal Court (ICC), as well as the mandate and activities of other criminal tribunals; investigation of the August 2008 war crimes by the International Criminal Court, expected results and execution issue; general overview of the mandate and activities of the European Court of Human Rights and the interstate complaint filed by Georgia against Russia concerning the deportation of thousands of ethnic Georgians; lawsuit on the violation of human rights by Russia during and after the August 2008 war; other important decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in connection with Georgia.

The training was conducted by international and local experts working on international courts issues: Alex Whiting, Natia Katsitadze and Simon Papuashvili. Fifteen representatives of the central and regional media took part in the training. After completing the course, the participants were awarded with certificates.

The training was funded by the EU project "Support to the Public Defender's Office".

The Human Rights Academy of the Public Defender will continue to organize trainings in order to deepen the knowledge of journalists in human rights and to improve their analytical skills for preparation of high-quality journalistic materials.