Higher quality of prosecutorial activities, victim-oriented criminal policy in Prosecutor General’s five-year action plan

The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia will aim to improve the overall quality of prosecutorial activities, develop a victim-oriented criminal policy, and increase the flexibility and efficiency of the institute of plea bargaining, among other objectives revealed by Prosecutor General Irakli Shotadze on Friday.

Shotadze presented both the 2021 report on his office’s work, and spoke about plans of the agency over the next five years, in comments to the Prosecutorial Council. The official told the council the Prosecutor’s Office was aiming to deal with new challenges for the institution while also seeking “to meet modern standards for policy development”.

Strengthening international cooperation and increasing efficiency in its work against matters ranging from corruption to cybercrime and money laundering were listed by Shotadze among tasks facing his agency.

Hate crimes, juvenile delinquency, domestic violence and violence against women were also mentioned in the comments from the state official, in addition to work on gender policy. In more specific plans, an electronic human resource management program, tailored to the needs and peculiarities of the Prosecutor’s Office, was unveiled in the address.

Shotadze also revealed a new construction project was planned to launch this year at the Tbilisi District Prosecutor's Offices, with the initiative aiming to provide a “modern working environment” for employees.

The Prosecutor General’s report also presented figures and statistics from the past years, which included:

• The Prosecutor's Office of Georgia started criminal prosecution against 19,744 individuals in 2021, compared to 15,625 persons in 2020
• The highest number of criminal prosecutions in 2021 came for crimes under Articles 177 (theft), 126 (1) (domestic violence) and 151 (threats) of the criminal code
• Compared to 2020, the number of adults (aged above 21) involved in legal diversion cases increased in 2021 by 539 (55%)
• The rate of sentencing in plea bargaining in 2021 was 50.3 percent, while the amount of fines imposed in plea agreements reached 20,733,873 GEL (about $6.9 million/€6.1 million)

In his comments, Shotadze said the 2022-2027 strategy and action plan for the body would be approved in the early part of this year.