On June 23, 2016, the Public Defender's Office and the Council of Europe Office in Georgia organized Conference on Amicus Curiae as an Effective Guiding Mechanism for National Courts in the Field of Human Rights.

The conference was aimed at emphasizing the role of the Public Defender's Office as an amicus curiae and the importance of the third party involvement in law proceedings.

Representatives of human rights institutions discussed the best local and international practices. Speaking at the conference, Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili discussed challenges and experience in the use of amicus curiae instrument by the Public Defender Office. The issue of the third party engagement was reviewed by European Court of Human Rights judge Nana Tsotsoria, while Lali Papiashvili, judge of the Constitutional Court of Georgia, spoke about the application of amicus curiae mechanism in the Constitutional Court.

The following issues were discussed at the debate and sessions:

1. The role of the Public Definer’s Office in trials; legal and technical bases necessary for the third party engagement;

2. Lack of procedural rules - legislative gaps in application of the amicus curiae mechanism by the Public Defender's Office in discrimination-related disputes;

3. Access to case materials in common courts before submitting amicus curiae briefs and during the process;

4. Necessity for development of relevant rules for identification of cases for the purpose of submitting amicus curiae briefs;

5. Importance of awareness and access to information about success of the application during proceedings regarding efficiency of the submitted application.

The conference was attended by judges from the European Court of Human Rights, the Constitutional Court of Georgia and the Supreme Court of Georgia, members of the Parliament of Georgia, representatives of the Public Defender's Office, the Bar Association, the Legal Aid Service, non-governmental organizations and the Secretariat of the Council of Europe.

The event was held within the framework of the Council of Europe project "Strengthening the operational capacities of the Public Defender's Office in Georgia".