The Ministry of Justice of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს იუსტიციის სამინისტრო, ''sakartvelos iustitsiis saministro'') is a

governmental agency A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...

within the

Cabinet of Georgia , border = , image = , image_size = 200px , alt = , image2 = , image_size2 = , alt2 = , caption = Coat of arms of Georgia (country), Coat of arms , date_established = , date_dissolved = , state = , country = , ...

in charge of regulating activities in the justice system, overseeing the public prosecutor, maintaining the legal system and public order, protection of the public and instituting law reforms in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. The ministry is headed by Paata Salia.

History

The development of the judicial system in Georgia dates back to Pharnavazi era when legislative functions were regulated by the People's Assembly and the Council of Elders. In 9th–10th centuries, the system was assigned to a state body called '' Darbazi'' (Chamber) which included clergy, aristocracy and the commons. This institution was in charge of issuing important legal documents, such as ''Samparavtmdzebnelo Law'' (Criminal Law), ''Bagrat Kurapalati Law'', ''Giorgi V Law'', ''Royal Court Regulations'', as well as translation and adaptation of international documents such as Law of Moses, Greek and Roman-Syrian laws, etc. A single collection of old documents was preserved and saved during the reign of

Vakhtang VI Vakhtang VI ( ka, ვახტანგ VI), also known as Vakhtang the Scholar, Vakhtang the Lawgiver and Ḥosaynqolī Khan (; 15 September 1675 – 26 March 1737), was a Georgian monarch (''mepe'') of the royal Bagrationi dynasty. He ru ...

in the beginning of the 18th century. The collection is known as the ''Book of Laws of Vakhtang VI'' (issued in 1703–1709). King Vakhtang’s ''Dasturlamal'' (the Book of Regulations) has survived to the present day. Composed in 1707–1709, it contains description of the statesmen and assignment of their duties, survey and census of the population, economy, revenues, taxes and property accounts, etc. The duties assumed by the present day Minister of Justice of Georgia were divided among a Chancellor, Chief Bookkeeper and Chief Mandaturi (supervisor). Despite establishment of Russian rule over Georgia, Georgian laws continued to function until the beginning of the 20th century, when any practice of traditional judicial system was ceased upon occupation of Georgia by the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

s in 1921. The first Ministry of Justice of independent

Georgian Republic Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region on the coast of the Black Sea. It is located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia, and is today generally regarded as part of Europe. It is bordered to the north and northeast by Russ ...

was established when the

National Council of Georgia The National Council of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს ეროვნული საბჭო, ''sakartvelos erovnuli sabcho'') was the first delegated legislative body formed by Georgia's major political parties and social organ ...

adopted an Act of Independence of Georgia on May 26, 1918 which functioned up until annexation of Georgia to Soviet Russia in 1921. According to the act of October 11, 1918, a Codification Subdivision was formed at the Ministry of Justice taking over the codification of legislation and publishing of official issue "Collection of Laws and Resolutions of the Government". After independence of Georgia was restored in 1991, the ministry was re-established.

Structure

The ministry is headed by the minister aided by three deputy ministers. The ministry carries out its activities in accordance with the resolution enacted by the Presidential Decree No. 541 dated November 7, 2008. As of January 2000, the Ministry of Justice acquired the most important competences, such as governing the penitentiary system and its organizational management, functions of Public and Civil Register (in 2004), governing

State Archives State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

(in 2004); organizational maintenance of effective governing system, as well as of State Commission of territorial settlement reform and activities of its workgroups (in 2006). Main functions of the ministry are protection of state interests at national and international courts and tribunals; identification of standards of active regulatory acts; bringing Georgian legislation in accordance with international guidelines; formation of the State Register; adjustment of emigration and migration procedures; regulation of Notary Functions, Public Registry Services, Civil Registry Services; maintaining State Archives; enforcement of court decisions; arrangement of the state representation at the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

Budget

The budget of the Ministry of Justice in 2023 is GEL 392.4 million (USD 147.8 million), up by GEL 71.8 million (USD 27.04 million) compared to 2022.

Ministers of Justice of Georgia

Ministers of Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918–1921)

* Shalva Aleksi-Meskhishvili, 1918–1919 * Razhden Arsenidze, 1919–1921 *

Evgeni Gegechkori , birth_date = , birth_place = Martvili, Kutais Governorate, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = Paris, France , nationality = Georgian , occupation = Politician , known_for ...

, 1921

Ministers of Republic of Georgia (1990–present)

* John Khetsuriani, 1990–1992 *

Konstantin Kemularia The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name '' Constantinus'' (Constantine) in some European languages, such as Bulgarian, Russian, Estonian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman emperor ...

, 1992–1993 * Tedo Ninidze, 1993–1998 * Lado Chanturia, 1998–1999 * John Khetsuriani, 1999–2000 *

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili (born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. He is the founder and former chair ...

, 2000–2001 * Roland Giligashvili, 2001–2003 *

Zurab Adeishvili Zurab Adeishvili ( ka, ზურაბ ადეიშვილი) (born 27 July 1972) is a Georgian lawyer and politician, serving as the Minister of Justice of Georgia from November 2008 to October 2012. Early life Adeishvili was born in t ...

, 2003–2004 * George Papuashvili, 2004–2005 *

, 2004–2005 *

Gia Kavtaradze Gia Kavtaradze (born 1970, in Tbilisi, Georgia) is the member of the Cabinet of Georgia and the Minister of Justice in the nation of Georgia. A lawyer by training, he has practiced law in Georgia, and worked in a series of NGO and Government jobs ...

, 2005–2007 * Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili, 1 August, 2007 – 31 January, 2008 *

Nika Gvaramia Nika Gvaramia ( ka, ნიკა გვარამია; born June 29, 1976) is a Georgian lawyer, media entrepreneur, public figure, who had held posts of Minister of Justice and Minister of Education and Science. He was the Director General ...

, January 31, 2008 – October 27, 2008 *

, November 2, 2008 – October 25, 2012 *

Tea Tsulukiani Thea Tsulukiani ( ka, თეა წულუკიანი; born 21 January 1975) is a Georgian politician who is currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture, Sport and Youth of Georgia. She previously served as Minister o ...

, October 25, 2012 – October 1, 2020 * Gocha Lortkipanidze, December 24, 2020 – 31 March, 2021 * Rati Bregadze, 1 April 2021 – 28 November, 2024 * Anri Okhanashvili, 28 November, 2024 – 2 April, 2025 * Paata Salia, 4 April, 2025საქართველოს პრემიერ-მინისტრის ბრძანება №81 პაატა სალიას საქართველოს იუსტიციის მინისტრად დანიშვნის შესახებ
Government of Georgia. –

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry of Justice (Georgia)

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

Georgia, Justice