A/HRC/17/11 10. Reforms in the judiciary increased the number of professional judges, modernized the judicial framework and improved accessibility of the system. Public trust in the court system has improved, demonstrated by recent surveys which showed that 71 per cent of total users of a court system were satisfied with the court service. 11. Criminal justice reforms in Georgia were led by the Criminal Justice Reform Council. 12. In 2009, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Code of Imprisonment were adopted. The Criminal Procedure Code transformed existing procedural system based on the principles of adversarial proceedings, equality of arms and jury trials. Particular attention was paid to improving the access to fair and effective justice. The Code of Imprisonment safeguarded detainees’ rights and improved conditions in the penitentiary. 13. Georgia had a strategic approach towards prison overcrowding by promoting discretionary prosecution, diversion, alternative sanctions and increased use of probation. 14. The delegation reaffirmed its respect for the principle of the freedom of association and assembly. Recent amendments to the Law on Assembly and Manifestation, welcomed by the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) as “significant improvement”, further adapted the Georgian legislation to international standards. 15. The delegation stated that the law enforcement agencies were undergoing extensive training in crowd management. 16. Georgia adopted the Law on Broadcasting, which transformed the State Television and Radio Company into a Georgian public broadcaster and guaranteed editorial, managerial and financial independence. 17. A new political television channel modeled after the channel C-SPAN/BBC Parliament was launched in 2010, providing live and unedited coverage of all political events. 18. Defamation was decriminalized in 2004. The Criminal Procedure Code guaranteed a higher standard of protection for media institutions during the investigative proceedings. 19. In 2010, a tax amnesty was introduced for television outlets including regional broadcasters. 20. Georgia acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1994. In 2004, the Child welfare reform was launched. The Child Welfare Action Plan 2008–2011 covered children with disabilities and minority and internally displaced children and emphasized the fight against poverty and violence among children. Georgia was reforming the childcare institution system. 21. The delegation noted that as a result of two waves of ethnic cleansing, in 1991–1993 and in 2008 in Abkhazia, Georgia, and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia, close to half a million people were displaced, most of them within Georgia. Georgia elaborated the State Strategy and Action Plan on internally displaced persons (IDPs) with the participation of civil society, IDPs themselves and international organizations. 22. By 2010, up to 17,000 IDP families living in collective centres have received rehabilitated apartments under private ownership. About 8,000 IDP families displaced as a result of the 2008 Georgia-Russia war received an individual house or apartment, or targeted financial assistance. Over 5,000 IDP families received allotments and agricultural land plots. 23. The Constitution safeguarded the principle of non-discrimination. The National Concept and Action Plan for Tolerance and Civil Integration, both adopted in 2009, 4

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