David Asatiani: I am officially addressing the High Council of Justice for additional clarification to rule out any interference with lawyers' professional activities
“The ban on photo-video recording and audio recording in court cannot, under any possible interpretation, become grounds for confiscating electronic devices from lawyers when entering the court building,” – the Chairman of the Georgian Bar Association, David Asatiani, wrote on social media in response to the statement of the High Council of Justice’s judge member, Dimitri Gvritishvili, who told journalists that the regulation on bringing mobile phones into courtrooms applies equally to everyone.
As Asatiani states, there has never been — and there will not be in the future — any restriction on the use of electronic devices by lawyers.
“Article 13¹, paragraph 2 of the Organic Law on Common Courts (amendment of 2 July 2025), which prohibits photo-video recording and audio recording in court, cannot, under any possible interpretation, become grounds for confiscating electronic devices from lawyers when entering the courthouse!”
He stressed that the electronic devices used by lawyers in courtrooms (mobile phones/laptops) are necessary working tools for their professional activities, and there has not been a single case in which lawyers used them for video filming or video editing. Moreover, lawyers have no need to do so, because as participants of proceedings, they already have unrestricted access to the audio protocol and, if necessary, to the video recordings of courtroom hearings.
As he notes, despite today’s public remarks, there has not been any such restriction in practice, and according to representatives of the judicial system, no such limitation is planned for lawyers in the future.
“Given the sensitivity of this issue, I am officially addressing the High Council of Justice for further clarification so that any interference with lawyers’ professional activities is excluded.
The Bar Association will not allow a legal interpretation or improper practice that would make it impossible for lawyers to fully perform their professional duties, and I hope that we will all be unanimous in this matter,” – Asatiani writes on social media.
