Mafia-like protection coming to end in Georgia?

TBILISI, Georgia — In October, Georgia will put its new Code of Criminal Procedure into action, complete with jury trials. Since establishing its re-independence in 1991 after 70 years of Soviet rule, the Georgian parliament has been actively working to mend its citizens’ broken trust in its legal system.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union left many former republics struggling to establish a viable, trustworthy legal infrastructure. Even after Georgian independence, from 1991 until 1997, the Soviet model continued to govern Georgian society. During this time, many citizens still did not completely trust the law for protection.

As a result, the “vory v zacone” system, translated literally as a “thief-in-law,” began to take hold. These thieves-in-law, akin to a sort of “mafia,” essentially sold protection to citizens, and, remarkably, earned the respect, admiration and trust of many of the Georgian people.  In some areas, that trust remains unchanged today. However, recent legislative acts aimed at eliminating the dependance on the “vory v zacone” have reduced the “thieves” prominence in the post-Soviet world. 

The slow decline of the “vory v zacone” system throughout Georgian society and the passage of new legislation reveals both a strengthening of government and a growing trust in the government’s ability to protect its citizens. For example, both the Georgian Civil and Criminal Codes have undergone frequent legislative changes since their respective initial inceptions. 

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, the current Georgian Criminal Code was signed into legislation in 1999. “In Nov. 2008, an amendment was made to the Criminal Procedure Code introducing the new jury trial system,” said Nino Tvaltvadze, the chairwoman of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association Kutaisi Branch. 

Georgia’s current court system is much like Germany’s inquisitorial model, in which the judge has the power to intervene in the questioning of a witness. After reformation, Georgia hopes to model its new system after the United States' adversarial model, in which the judge’s power is much more limited. In an adversarial court, the judge aims to ensure that the trial runs smoothly by acting more as a referee than an attorney. 

Under the new system, the Georgian court will also begin using the jury trial model. 

Starting on Oct. 1, 2010, the first jury trials will take place in Tbilisi, the country’s capital. Initially, courts will only try aggravated murder cases under this new model.

After two years, Georgia’s second largest city, Kutaisi, will also begin using the jury system. The breadth of cases judged under this adversarial model will also expand to include cases of murder under conditions of great emotional distress — known in America as manslaughter — and rape.

A wide array of international governing bodies are assisting Georgia through its transition, including the embassy of Great Britain, the Norwegian Mission of Rule of Law Advisers to Georgia, the EU Rule of Law Mission to Georgia, and the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Rule of Law Initiative .

“The ABA is involved in training Georgian criminal defense lawyers in a criminal procedure code, trial skills, and providing technical advice when asked,” said Ronald Wolfson, Legal Specialist at the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative, Europe and Eurasia Division. 

The success of Georgian jury trials may be threatened by the country’s size and traditional mentality, according to an annual report by Transparency International Georgia, an NGO that works to increase government transparency and accountability.

“Georgia is a small country; it’s so easy to find people who know each other, and it’s not very difficult to find the relatives of those jurors and have some influence on them,” said Tvaltvadze. 

With legislation and legal training underway, the only way to assess the future of a Georgian jury will be to wait and see.