Juvenile Diversion and Mediation Programme – One-year Results
On November 15, one-year results of the Juvenile Diversion and Mediation Programme were summed up at the National Library Conference Hall. In order to liberalize the juvenile justice system the Ministry of Justice of Georgia launched the Diversion and Mediation Programme exactly one year ago, on 15 November 2010. Murtaz Zodelava, Chief Prosecutor of Georgia, Khatuna Kalmakhelidze, Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance of Georgia, and Giorgi Tughushi, Public Defender of Georgia as well as Stephen Stork, representative of the Delegation of the European Union, Roeland Monasch, UNICEF Georgia Representative and others participated into the conference. Chief Prosecutor Murtaz Zodelava opened the event: “With the aim to prevent juvenile delinquency the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, Justice Ministry and other state bodies have been carrying out a number of programmes including one of the most successful projects on Mediation and Diversion, which has been implemented with active support by the EU. It has been going on for one year only but more than 60 juveniles have been averted from the criminal responsibility over this period,” stated Murtaz Zodelava. “If not the Diversion and Mediation Programme they would, maybe, have ended up in correction facilities. I hope none of them makes the same mistake. The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, in its turn, will do its best to prevent juvenile delinquency and promote healthy lifestyle among young people in order to divert them from crime.” The participants of the conference listened to the presentations on the objectives of the programme and results of the 1st year, rehabilitation and reintegration component, diversion programme from global viewpoint, etc. The conference was held in Georgia within the framework of the EU project “Support to the Rule of Law in Georgia.”
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