Human Rights Issues in EU Accession Negotiations With Candidate States: Georgia

Abstract

This article examines the role of fundamental rights, access to justice, and the rule of law in Georgia’s EU accession process, focusing on the challenges identified in the European Commission’s 2023 assessment and related reform priorities. Using doctrinal legal analysis and a policy-oriented approach, the study evaluates Georgian constitutional and legislative frameworks, judicial and prosecutorial practices, and the findings of European and international monitoring bodies. It analyses key problem areas affecting compliance with EU standards, including delays in judicial proceedings, inadequate reasoning in court decisions, restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, and association, shortcomings in anti-discrimination and personal data protection, ineffective execution of European Court of Human Rights judgments, and broader institutional deficiencies in judicial governance, prosecutorial independence, migration policy, and anti-corruption mechanisms. The article demonstrates that, despite the formal adoption of certain reforms within the European integration process, many changes remain fragmented and do not adequately address systemic governance issues. It concludes that Georgia’s genuine progress towards EU membership depends not only on formal legislative alignment but also on substantive institutional reforms capable of ensuring effective human rights protection, judicial independence, and accountable democratic governance.