Counsel in the Caucasus : : professionalization and law in Georgia / / Christopher P.M. Waters.

• Superior document: Law in Eastern Europe ; no. 54
• Author: Waters, Christopher P. M. 1968-
• Year of Publication: 2004
• Edition: 1st ed. 2004.
• Language: English
• Series: Law in Eastern Europe ; no. 54.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (206 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

This book traces the development of the rule of law in Georgia since its independence and speculates on its future direction. It does so by focusing on changes in the legal profession after 1991. Intriguingly, the book, which is based on extensive field-work, concludes that culture and informal regulation are key to understanding how Georgian lawyers are governed, or rather govern themselves. Indeed, for several years after independence from the Soviet Union there was no functioning law on attorneys; informal regulation, based on the importance of reputation and networks, was the only sort of regulation. Other topics addressed in the book include Georgia's legal history, its current human rights situation, theories of professionalization, and the link between law and development. The book also compares the Georgian experience to that country's South Caucasian neighbors - Armenia and Azerbaijan - thus rounding the book out as a regional study.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements -- Political Map of the Caucasus -- Map of Georgian Cities -- Common Abbreviations -- Introduction -- Is There a Post-Soviet Legal Profession in Georgia? -- Chapter Outline , Field-work -- Chapter 1. Approaching Georgian Lawyers, Legal Professions (or the Study of Western Lawyers), Soviet Lawyers, Post-Soviet Lawyers , Accounting for the Georgian Difference -- Chapter 2. Georgian Legal Histories, Introduction, Indigenous Georgian Law, The Tsarist Period, Menshevik Georgia (1918-1921), Soviet Period, Soviet Law and Lawyering (with Georgian Twists), Beyond Soviet Law and Lawyering: Georgian Non-State Law, Perestroika , Early Independence -- Chapter 3. The Legal Environment, Regionalism, Formal Law and Its Implementation, Constitutional and Judicial Reforms, Lawmaking, Human Rights and Corruption, Non-State Law -- Chapter 4. Legal Education, Educating Lawyers, The Numbers Boom, Formal Legal Education, Beyond Law School: Preparing Law Graduates for Practice, Access to the Profession, Educating the Public -- Chapter 5. The Politics of Regulation and Self-Regulation, State Regulation, The Players, The Process, Self-Regulation, Restricting Supply, Controlling Practice, Prognosis for the Law on the Bar -- Chapter 6. Stratification and Professional Badges, Stratification, Mtatsminda Legal Consultation Bureau (LCB), The Firm-Georgia Consulting Group (GCG), Other Legal Occupations, Professional Badges: Collegiality and Prestige -- Chapter 7. Comparisons with Armenia and Azerbaijan, A Regional Legal History? Law and the Armenian Diaspora, Azerbaijan's Late Statehood, The Legal Environment, Legal Education, Regulation and Self-Regulation, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Stratification and Professionalization:"Musicians at a Funeral"? Conclusion: Professionalization and the Rule of Law, Profession on the Rise, Summary of Empirical Findings, Implications for Studies of the Legal Profession, Implications for the Rule of Law, Type One Reforms-Changing the Laws, Type Two Reforms-Institutions, Type Three Reforms-Government Compliance with Law, Lawyers and the Demand for Law -- Cited Interviewees -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author.