Salome Zourabichvili held a meeting with Judge Róbert Ragnar Spanó, President of the European Court of Human Rights. The sides discussed the role of the Court in the strengthening of Georgian democratic institutions and the protection of human rights.

During the meeting, Judge Spanó emphasized that the ECHR was a “friend and partner” of Georgia and was ready to cooperate with Georgia to strengthen human rights protections. He also noted that despite ongoing challenges, Georgia had moved forward in the last ten years in human rights protection, increasing trust in courts and strengthening democratic institutions.

President of Georgia spoke about the importance of depolarization and the need to fulfill the recommendations of the European Union to obtain membership candidate status, underlining the recommendation on the adoption of legislation so that Georgian courts proactively take into account ECHR judgments in their deliberations. The Court expressed its full readiness to cooperate with Georgia in this respect.

The sides also paid attention to the full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine that threatens peace, security and the protection of human rights in Europe and around the world.