On April 22-26, the Judicial Independence and Legal Empowerment Project (JILEP) organized workshops at four Georgian law school libraries the complete the next phase of its information services development program.  John Christensen, information services expert from Washburn University School of Law, conducted full-day workshops for the law library staff at Georgian-American University, International Black Sea University, Free University and Ilia State University.  Mr. Christensen spoke to the groups on topics such as, effectively searching international legal databases; properly using Adobe Connect software; and how to access online law training opportunities.  He also explained in detail how Georgian legal scholars could obtain research assistance from the Washburn University School of Law Library.

On April 4-5, JILEP arranged for Giorgi Svanadze, legal scholar and Academic Director of the JILEP-supported National Centre for Commercial Law (NCCL), to deliver a course to 14 Georgian judges on the “Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and Other Sources of International Trade Law.”  The training took place at the High School of Justice and involved sitting judges from the Tbilisi and Kutaisi Appellate Courts.  Professor Svanadze outlined the key provisions of the CISG, and most importantly, explained to the judges that because Georgia signed the Convention, the CISG should be considered Georgian law and should be applied by Georgian courts.

From April 10 - 19, 2013, JILEP delivered workshops to six different Georgian law school legal clinics.  Public Interest Law Network (PIL-net)’s clinical expert, Professor Richard Grimes of the University of York, UK, conducted a full-day training at each clinic.  The main objective of workshop tour was to determine how well the clinics are applying the Georgian Legal Clinic Handbook, recently published by Georgian American University with the support of JILEP and PIL-net.  During the workshops, clinic staff and students provided Professor Grimes detailed descriptions of the cases they were handling as well explanations for how their clinics operate day-to-day.  Professor Grimes responded by provided targeted suggestions on how each clinic could become more professional and efficient and what steps they could take to raise the level of service to their clients.

On April 19, Judicial Independence and Legal Empowerment Project (JILEP) delivered instruction in evidence preparation and presentation to 17 lawyers, representing seven different legal aid organizations including GYLA, Article 42, and Transparency International.  Three lawyers from the State Legal Aid Services also attended the program.  U.S. lawyer and law professor, Delaine R. Swenson discussed the American and Georgian rules of evidence with the participants and taught them techniques for evidence gathering and presentation.  Participants used the suggestions provided by Professor Swenson to conduct mock, direct and cross-examinations of witnesses.  The training also covered effective use of physical evidence in the courtroom.

On April 19-21, the Judicial Independence and Legal Empowerment Project (JILEP) delivered a two-day training of trainers (TOT) in modern teaching methodology to 16 law professors from Tbilisi State University Faculty of Law (TSU).  The event represented the second in a series of four trainings to be delivered within the framework of an instructional methodology development program designed for the TSU law faculty.  The program is designed to help TSU professors adopt more modern, effective, and interactive teaching methods and improve the overall teaching culture at TSU.   Professor Delaine R. Swenson of the Catholic University of Lublin (Poland) conducted the training.  The next training of the series is scheduled for May, 2013.