On March 2, a public lecture was held at Caucasus University: "Restorative justice in Georgia - achievements, challenges and perspectives".

The event was opened and the audience was welcomed by Sofia Shengelia - Dean of the Caucasus School of Law.

Speakers gave public lectures on the following topics:

• Ivo Erzen - professor emeritus of the University of Louvain, Belgium.
• Topics: the essence of restorative justice, the history of its birth and development in Europe; The role of the prosecutor and the judge in the development of restorative justice.
• Maia Chochua - Member of the Board of the European Forum for Restorative Justice, Advisor of the Dai Global Consulting Company on Justice and Good Governance. Topics: activities/achievements implemented by the EU4Justice project in the implementation and development of restorative justice; Main directions and activities of the European Forum of Restorative Justice.
• Teona Kuchava - child protection specialist of the United Nations Children's Fund. Topics: the importance of introducing restorative approaches in juvenile justice; The importance of strengthening the teaching of juvenile justice and children's rights in secondary and higher education institutions. 
• Levan Darbaidze - judge of the Gori district court, professor of Caucasus University and East European University, doctor of law. Topics: vision of the development of restorative justice from the judge's perspective; Restorative justice in university education.
• Renate Winter - former chairman of the UN Committee on Children's Rights, judge. Topics: main achievements and challenges in the field of juvenile justice in Georgia; Restorative justice and children's rights - modern European approaches.

The meeting was held in an interactive mode, at the end of the lecture the audience had the opportunity to ask interesting questions and receive comprehensive answers from the speakers.

Restorative justice offers a different way of dealing with crime than other traditional criminal justice methods.  It is the kind of law enforcement where reparations are made through direct communication between the offender and the victim, on the basis of mutual understanding and agreement, where the needs and wishes of each participant are valued equally.

It should be noted that restorative justice has been established as an independent study discipline at the law program of Caucasus University, and from the spring semester of 2023 it is already taught as an elective subject at the master's level.