Transforming Justice: Summer School on Gender Equality and Legal Action in Georgia 2025

The Council of Europe, in collaboration with Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University, has introduced the launch of the 2025 version of the Summer School for Law Students underneath the theme “Transforming Justice: Advancing Gender Equality Through Legal Action.” This intensive five-day educational program might be held from 28 July to 1 August 2025 exterior Tbilisi, Georgia. The initiative goals to equip future authorized practitioners with important information and sensible instruments to advance gender justice, notably in the context of violence in opposition to girls and home violence.

This Summer School is part of the broader Council of Europe initiative underneath the Action Plan for Georgia 2024–2027 and is organised throughout the framework of the venture “Reinforcing gender equality and implementing GREVIO recommendations to combat violence against women and domestic violence in Georgia.”

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Why Gender and Law?

Legal professionals play an important position in addressing and stopping gender-based violence. However, even in nations with sturdy authorized mechanisms—reminiscent of these underneath the Istanbul Convention—there’s usually a big hole between authorized concept and its sensible implementation. This summer time faculty addresses this disconnect, providing regulation college students a uncommon alternative to study and interact with the frameworks that govern gender justice, whereas additionally studying from main consultants in the sector.

The programme not solely helps authorized capability constructing amongst youth but in addition cultivates a era of legal professionals outfitted with the attitude and instruments to make sure that justice programs function energetic automobiles for social change and human rights safety.

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Programme Highlights

The Summer School’s curriculum blends worldwide authorized requirements with nationwide implementation mechanisms. It incorporates Council of Europe devices, notably the Istanbul Convention, and attracts from the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. Key themes embrace:

• Structural and authorized foundations of gender equality

• State obligations underneath the Istanbul Convention

• GREVIO suggestions for Georgia

• Trauma-informed and victim-centred justice approaches

• Technology-facilitated violence in opposition to girls

• Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) used to silence survivors

• Intersectional vulnerabilities and authorized entry for marginalized girls

• Advocacy expertise coaching by means of a moot court docket competitors

Through interactive methodologies reminiscent of group workout routines, case evaluation, and expert-led lectures, individuals will achieve not solely authorized perception but in addition advocacy, litigation, and neighborhood outreach expertise.

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Tackling SLAPPs and Intersectional Justice

A particular side of this 12 months’s programme is its deep focus on SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation), a rising phenomenon the place survivors of gender-based violence are sued to silence their voices. The module will discover authorized counter-strategies, freedom of expression safety, and Council of Europe’s pointers on whistleblower safety in these contexts.

Another module will deal with intersectional vulnerabilities, analyzing the compounded obstacles girls face because of incapacity, sexual orientation, or institutionalisation. Participants will evaluation case regulation and legislative protections particular to those teams, making ready them for rights-based, inclusive authorized observe.

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Who Can Apply?

This programme is open to superior regulation college students in Georgia, together with:

Applicants ought to show a powerful educational file and a confirmed curiosity in gender equality, worldwide regulation, and human rights. The organizers encourage functions from college students exterior Tbilisi to make sure geographical variety and inclusivity.

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Practical Details and Benefits

• Dates: 28 July – 1 August 2025

• Location: Outside Tbilisi, Georgia (venue TBC)

• Language: Primarily Georgian, with interpretation offered for English periods

• Cost: All bills (journey, meals, lodging) are absolutely coated by the Council of Europe

• Application Deadline: 16 June 2025, 23:59 (Tbilisi time)

• Submission Email: Genderequality.georgia@coe.int

• Subject line: “Summer School for Law Students 2025”

Required Documents:

• CV outlining schooling, extracurriculars, and related experiences

• Motivation letter (max 500 phrases)

• One letter of advice from a college lecturer

Check the total info and eligibility HERE.

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Beyond the Classroom: Continued Impact

Participants is not going to solely depart with certificates of completion but in addition a path to additional engagement. After the summer time faculty, college students might be invited to take part in Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University’s Legal Clinic road regulation initiatives, providing authorized schooling workshops on gender justice in their communities.

A Training of Trainers (ToT) course will even be offered to assist college students turn out to be efficient educators and advocates for ladies’s rights. Furthermore, 5 chosen college students will obtain mentorship to develop educational articles on gender justice subjects, which might be revealed in a particular version of the college’s regulation journal.

This sensible continuum ensures that the summer time faculty is greater than a tutorial occasion—it’s a launchpad for real-world authorized change and neighborhood management.

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For extra youth-focused alternatives, go to Opportunities for Youth.