DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Criminal Division, Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT)

Georgia Justice Sector Development Program

INL fully funds initiatives managed by the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) to assist the Government of Georgia by means of a Resident Legal Advisor (RLA) posted to the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi and supported by experienced attorneys at DOJ headquarters. Initiated in February 1999, the OPDAT Georgia program is extremely busy and productive in its anti-corruption efforts, as well as responsible for the planning and implementation of criminal justice training and assistance programs. Roger Keller, the current RLA is an experienced prosecutor from the US Attorney’s Office in St. Louis, Missouri.

Recent Accomplishments:

• Money Laundering
  With RLA assistance, the Georgian Parliament passed a COE and FATF compliant anti-money laundering law. Further, through INL/OPDAT financial assistance, the Procuracy created a specialized Money Laundering Unit to investigate and prosecute money laundering and its predicate crimes, especially corruption. A FBI Polygraph team vetted all successful candidates. Inter alia, the unit prosecuted the President of Gamma Bank and other bank officers for the laundering of several hundred million dollars from Russia through Georgia to the US and Monaco. All of them were convicted in April 2006. Implementing US style plea-bargaining, the unit took 10 guilty pleas from individuals who cooperated against the President. This “working up the ladder” style of prosecution is unprecedented in the ex-Soviet criminal system and is a direct result of OPDAT’s programs.


• Drafting a new Criminal Procedure Code
  The Georgian legal and law enforcement sectors, particularly the Prosecutor’s Office, are casting off their retrograde and corrupt Soviet legacy and moving toward a criminal justice system based on the rule of law and democratic principles.
  
  With ongoing help from the RLA and visiting US practitioner and professors, a Georgian drafting group is finishing a reformed code that is compliant with international standards. This US-style code will facilitate effective criminal investigations and prosecutions in a manner that respects civil liberties. Jury trials will also be implemented.<


• Training
  In order to educate the Prosecutor's Office on the changes which will come in force with the new Criminal Procedure Code, the RLA conducts ongoing practical training programs for Georgian prosecutors. In March 2007, OPDAT initiated its year long train the trainers trial skills program.  It trained 30 prosecutors who, in turn, began to train their 600 colleagues.  This will provide the prosecutors with the skills necessary to successfully implement the CPC. Also, this mechanism, provides OPDAT an efficient way for teaching the necessary trial skills and guarantees that all 600 prosecutors receive uniform training.
  
  
• Procuracy Reform
  The RLA and visiting DOJ experts are helping the Procuracy implement OPDAT proposals for mandatory financial disclosure, annual ethics training, the creation an IG/OPR office, and the establishment of standards for hiring, firing, and promotion. Further, with INL funds, OPDAT has established regional prosecutor libraries. These contain the latest legislation and legal practice materials in renovated rooms equipped with a computer for both word processing and internet access, as well as a printer and fax. This, for the first time, establishes nation-wide communication and coordination on criminal legal matters and improves knowledge and skill level.