On 12 June 2015, the Parliament of Georgia adopted Georgia's first Juvenile Justice Code in Georgia, developed by the Ministry of Justice with support from the HD-led EU-funded project Support to the Reform of the Criminal Justice System in Georgia and UNICEF.
The new Code — including a child victims and witness parts — brings the Georgian juvenile justice system into compliance with international standards. Thus far, children in conflict with the law have been treated as adults by the criminal justice system; special treatment, if any, was left at the discretion of the individual judges/prosecutors.
I would like to commend the Ministry of Justice, the Parliament of Georgia, the Supreme Court, all involved ministries and agencies, civil society organizations, and international and national experts for their efforts in developing a Juvenile Justice Code that is one of the most progressive laws in the entire region.
— Sascha Graumann, UNICEF Representative in Georgia
The Code sets the elements of modern legislation and justice system in the best interest of the child, including:
These approaches toward children in conflict with the law will be institutionally guaranteed and will be no longer conditioned on the goodwill and practices of the prosecution. The new Juvenile Justice Code will come into force in January 2016.