Introduction

The Georgian system of higher education was essentially reformed with the enactment of the Georgian Law on Higher Education (hereinafter, the Law on Higher Education) on December 12, 2004. The law in question covered all key aspects of university level education. At the time of the adoption of the Law on Higher Education, Georgia was not yet a participating country in the Bologna process. Still, the drafters of the legal act took a very close look at the Bologna instruments and created a higher educational system that was to a considerable extent in compliance with the main requirements of those instruments.

There is a vast range of issues that have been addressed by the fundamental reforms derived from the Law on Higher Education. Without exaggerating, it can be asserted that these reforms have affected all departments of every institution of higher education in Georgia, though with varying degrees of intensity. One of the most reform-devoted universities has proved to be the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU). Within the university itself, the Law Faculty has become a leader and promoter of reforms, setting an example for organized and in-depth reform for law schools countrywide. In fact, TSU has become a “center of excellence” in this regard.

The reform carried out by the TSU Law Faculty was a complex and far-reaching undertaking, focusing on the essential aspects of legal education.