On April 6, Academician of the
National Academy of Sciences of Georgia, Doctor of Law, Professor
Mindia Ugrekhelidze visited Tbilisi Theological Academy and
Seminary at the invitation of Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze,
Rector of Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary, Doctor of
Theology, Philology and Political Sciences. Receiving public
figures, representatives of various fields of science and art at
Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary within the framework of a
cycle of Public Lectures is a continuation of the tradition which
has a long history. It started when the Catholicos-Patriarch of All
Georgia, His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II was still the Rector of
Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary (2005-2009).
Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze, Rector of TTAS opened the meeting.
He addressed the guest with a welcoming speech, and then drew the
audience’s attention to Mr. Mindia Ugrekhelidze’s personal virtues,
scope and magnitude of his work. In addition, he emphasized the
necessity of such meetings in the bosom of this educational
institution.
Elizabet Abuladze, the
representative of the Public Relations Service of TTAS, spoke about
the life and work of Mr. Mindia Ugrekhelidze and highlighted
several aspects from the extensive list of his activities and
merits: Mr. Mindia Ugrekhelidze’s name is associated with
large-scale changes, both within the national and international
scopes: after the restoration of Georgia’s independence, she was
the first Chairman of the Supreme Court (1990-1999) and its
reformer. International Justice in the International Court of Human
Rights successfully used the Georgian Concept of Causation (Tinatin
Tsereteli’s formula) in one well-known case, which, thanks to the
suggestion of Mr. Mindia Ugrekhelidze as the rapporteur-judge of
the Grand Chamber, and due to the Georgian experience, later laid
the basis for the consideration of similar cases, which was the
rarest case of the implementation of national ideas in the
international jurisprudence. Under the leadership of Mr. Mindia
Ugrekhelidze, in the 70s of the 20th century, the present version
of Article 254 of the Criminal Code of Georgia was formed, which
based the protection of the monuments of culture on completely new
principles; on Mr. Mindia’s own initiative, Article 8 on Causal
Relation is now the asset of the current criminal law code, which
is the only case of legislative regulation of the most difficult
problem in Europe, and many others...
Mr. Mindia Ugrekhelidze is the
author of more than 170 scientific works, including three
monographs. They are published in ten foreign languages (Russian,
English, German, French, Spanish, Polish, Italian, Greek and
others) and in 14 countries (Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France,
Venezuela, Poland, Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Kabardino-Balkaria and others). He gave a public lecture for the
students and professors of Tbilisi Theological Academy and
Seminary. The topic of the lecture was: “The Essence and Importance
of Law”. Within the framework of the topic mentioned above, he
spoke at length about the interrelationship of the concepts of the
triad - right, law and justice, and about Law as the foundation of
science and social-political life; he touched upon the highly
significant and difficult process of the formation of concepts and
terms in the history of Georgian Law, and noted that two main
dimensions determine the goodness and credit of Law: One is its
lofty purpose, great goal and calling for humankind, that it should
attain to and recognize justice for a human being; and the other is
that humankind has not created a more democratic institution than
the court is, so far. In this respect, the most procedural rules,
standards and “shields” are provided in order to ensure that the
legal status of a person is reliably protected and ensured. At the
end of the lecture, Mr. Mindia spoke very cordially and emotionally
about his family environment, teachers and people who determined
his choice of profession and the path he has walked in throughout
his life. With special warmth and respect, did he remember his
teacher, a remarkable and outstanding representative of the
Georgian school of Law - Tinatin Tsereteli. He noted that his own
life and work had been inspired by that great jurist. Mr. Mindia
extended his gratitude towards the Catholicos-Patriarch of All
Georgia Ilia II, noting that he holds His Holiness and Beatitude in
high esteem. He spoke about the Patriarch’s unfathomable
contribution to the Georgian Church and State and his merit, he
also recalled several important episodes of his communication with
the him. At the end of the meeting, Mr. Mindia answered the
questions which arose from the audience. As a sign of gratitude,
Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze presented commemorative gifts to
the guest of honor, an icon of Saint George and the Multilingual
Bible.