Irakli Shotadze, the Prosecutor General of Georgia, and Kelly Degnan, the US. Ambassador to Georgia, has attended the closing event of the conclusion of mock jury trials organized by the Prosecution Service with the support of the US. Embassy.

Irakli Shotadze addressed the project organizers and participants. He thanked the U.S. Embassy for actively supporting the project and wished the students participating in the training a successful professional career.

As Prosecutor General stated, the project aimed to strengthen the jury institute through the campaign for raising public awareness, within the scope of which, the public will be informed about the jury trial institute from time to time, specifically, about such matters as what is a jury trial, who can become a juror and in general, what role this institute plays in course of administration of justice.

In the words of Irakli Shotadze, it should be stressed that working with students, teaching them professional skills and taking part in deepening the knowledge of the youth on various matters is an interesting and important process for the Prosecution Service. Hence, the Service is always ready to plan and participate in similar activities.

“The doors of the Prosecution Service are always open for every young lawyer, who can be employed within the system of the Prosecution Service through internship. The prosecutors you see here, myself included, actually started their career as interns. Therefore, seeing each one of you as the Prosecution Service employees will make me happy”, - Irakli Shotadze told the students.

Kelly Degnan stated, the US is proud to support the said training that serves to improve the jury trial skills and constitutes the strongest link between citizens and the judiciary.

“We are glad to see a new generation of law students, who are learning jury trial skills in order to ensure that justice is administered for citizens of Georgia. We thank the representatives of the Prosecution Service and the Bar Association and of course, the judges, who volunteered and found time to conduct this educational mock trial”, - noted Degnan.

The project was carried out within the scope of the Become a Juror campaign, with the involvement of Georgian law enforcement agencies and the United States Department of Justice, and with the support of INL Bureau, and students from about ten various universities participated in it.

Trainings on trial skills incorporating performance of practical tasks were conducted for students within the framework of the event.

Employees of the Prosecution Service of Georgia and the Bar Association participated in the training process. The mock trials were led by City Court judges. Moreover, Ms. Lena Owens, Resident Legal Advisor, U.S. Department of Justice, shared her experience with the students.

Within the frameworks of the event, organizers of the training nominated the winner students participating in the mock jury trials, including the Best Witness, the Best Speaker, as well as the best prosecutor and lawyer teams. Winners were awarded symbolic prizes and certificates.

Within the scope of he Become a Juror campaign, a number of events will be held with participation of representatives of various circles of the public, which will facilitate the further strengthening of the jury institute.