The highest sentence in criminal law (on the example of the USA)
April 11-27, 2016, the European University Institute of Law conducted a professional qualification-certified course on the topic: “The highest sentence in criminal law (on the example of the USA).” American judge from Florida, Mark Speiser, led the course. He introduced the features of the United States of America justice to the Georgian students, and discussed the cases of using the highest sentence from his many years of judicial practice.
Within the framework of the visit, a meeting was held with the judicial corps of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Within the framework of the meeting, Mark Speiser gave a detailed review of the US justice system, in particular, legal regulation and court practice. The Chairman of the Supreme Court, Nino Gvenetadze, spoke about the compliance of the Juvenile Justice Code of Georgia with international principles. At the meeting, the Chairman of the Supreme Court noted that with the support of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), a special group has been created with the participation of judges with relevant specializations of general courts and representatives of state agencies, which is focused on identifying gaps related to the implementation of the Juvenile Justice Code in practice and developing appropriate recommendations for their elimination. At the meeting, the participants got acquainted with the American judicial practice and modern approaches to the institution of the jury and other current issues of criminal justice.
After the successful completion of the two-week training course, the Academic Council of the European University unanimously supported the awarding of an honorary doctorate degree to Mark Speiser.
Within the framework of the course, a memorandum of cooperation was signed with the European University Institute of Law and the court of Miami city (USA, Florida). Within the framework of the memorandum, in December 2017, Natia Rostomashvili, the best fourth-year law student at the European University, completed a one-month internship at the Miami court.Mark Speiser himself was involved in the selection competition. 'When you take the seat of an assistant next to the judge at a trial in the United States of America and become a full-fledged participant in the proceedings, and then you realize that all this is not simulated, you easily believe that dreams come true.'-Natia Rostomashvili.
