Source description last updated: 13 May 2020

In brief: The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association is a Tbilisi-based voluntary professional union of lawyers that seeks to safeguard the rule of law and protection of human rights.

Coverage on ecoi.net:

Selected reports.

Covered monthly on ecoi.net for Georgia.

Mission/Mandate/Objectives:

The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) aims to support the “creation of such an environment in Georgia, in which the society is active and has a high-level legal culture; in which the state institutions are transparent and accountable; in which the supremacy of law is effective and the state power is limited by the human rights.” (GYLA: Georgian Young Lawyers' Association Strategy (2015 – 2019), 30 November 2014, p. 2)

“GYLA operates through 9 offices throughout Georgia. The major goal of its work is protection of human rights and supporting good governance in Georgia.” (GYLA: Annual Report 2019, 2019, p. 8)

GYLA provides free legal consultations and represents “individuals before the courts and other administrative bodies to help recover their violated rights.” It “address[es] the Constitutional Court of Georgia and the European Court of Human Rights […] in strategically important cases for the protection of human rights”. Furthermore, it “cooperate[s] with all three branches of government and support[s] the creation of legislative guarantees for the protection of human rights.”

“GYLA […] has been conducting monitoring within various projects. These relate to a number of spheres: criminal; administrative; evaluation of conditions in prisons and revealing violation of inmates’ rights; property rights and protection of the rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). […] GYLA has been actively working on media issues” and has “also implemented a number of anti-corruption projects […].” GYLA also monitors elections in Georgia. (GYLA: History, 10 November 2015)

Funding:

GYLA is funded through grants, donations and membership fees (GYLA: Annual Report 2019, 2019, p. 55).

Donors of GYLA include USAID, the East West Management Institute (EWMI), the British and Norwegian embassies in Georgia, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the European Union, the Sigrid Rausing Trust, the National Endowment for Democracy, the Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF) and Equal Rights Trust. The majority of funding during the one-year period from 1 November 2018 to 1 November 2019 was provided by USAID, EWMI and the OSGF in the form of grants. (GYLA: Annual Report 2019, 2019, pp. 55-57)

Scope of reporting:

Geographic scope: Georgia

Thematic scope: Human rights (including women’s rights, anti-discrimination, justice and freedom of the media), rule of law, elections

Methodology:

Reports may be based on the analysis of materials from cases managed by GYLA, in-depth interviews with victims of human rights violations and their lawyers (see, for example, GYLA: Significant issues of domestic violence and violence against women, 2019, p. 6), letters from prisoners (see, for example, GYLA/GCRT: Prevention of and response to incidents of ill-treatment, 2019, p. 5) as well as analysis of relevant national legislation and international standards (see, for example, GYLA: Significant issues of domestic violence and violence against women, 2019, p. 6 and GYLA/GCRT: Prevention of and response to incidents of ill-treatment, 2019, p. 5) and information provided upon request by public institutions in Georgia (GYLA: Significant issues of domestic violence and violence against women, 2019, p. 6).

Languages of publication:

English and Georgian

All links accessed 12 May 2020.