Business Disputes and Court Practice

On March 6, with the initiative of EU-Georgia Business Council, within a framework of cooperation with the Supreme Court of Georgia, a conference -"Business Disputes and Court Practice" was held. The aim of the Conference was to discuss the problematic issues between the business and the judiciary, such as the duration of business disputes that could cause massive damages to business and low qualification of judges in specific business areas.

In his interview, Zviad Chumburidze, the Secretary general of EU-Georgia Business Council stated: Today's meeting is a very good opportunity for Georgian business, to present their concerns to judiciary officials. First of all, I want to note that the issues that concern business must be resolved in the nearest future, because such issue, as the duration of business disputes, which can last for years, can be very harmful to business. One more interesting topic, which will be discussed today is the qualification of judges and possible ways of re-training them. We certainly have qualified judges, but there are some specific business issues that require more qualified and trained judges. Today's meeting is a tribune for Georgian business to present their concerns and get the relevant answers to them,” stated Chumburidze.

It is noteworthy that this type of a conference, where judiciary and business sectors met each other, was first held in Georgia. The EU-Georgia Business Council in cooperation with the representatives of judiciary system plans to make the conference annual, which will support the solution of problematic issues between the business sector and judiciary system.

In their presentations, judges discussed the important issues of regulations of the business disputes and the representatives of the business companies presented their vision of business development in Georgia and role of the court in this process. The following topics were presented at the conference: - „Actual issues related to court disputes entailed by commercial activities carried out in Georgia, problems and perspectives“; “Common Challenges of Legal Proceedings Related to Business Litigations”; - „Investment disputes and court practice“; - „Commercial banks and litigation issues“; - „Recognition and enforcement of arbitrage decisions - review of court practice”; - “Existing problems of relationship with Judicial System , “Rustavi Steel” Experience”, - “Features of examination of a cases related to court disputes entailed by lease agreements”; - „Business disputes time frames and steadfast development of civil litigation process“; - “Actual issues of corporate law”; - „Procedural provisions and conditions of its application“ .

According to the agreement with the Supreme Court, in the framework of the scientific-consultation council, it will be possible to hold meetings between the business associations and the judicial authorities during 2018.

An independent court is one of the main cornerstones of a democratic society. It has a huge influence on the development of a political and economic system of the country. Therefore, communication between the judiciary system and business sector, to solve the existing shortcomings has a significant importance. On one hand, a fast and effective solution of the business disputes will maintain proper functioning of a business, and on the other, it will create a more attractive business environment and support the development of this sector in Georgia, which is one of the main factors for the growth of country's economy.