Georgia, Tbilisi, July 25 / Trend N. Kirtzkhalia /
Public confidence in Georgia's courts is growing. The number of acquittals increased, deputy chairman of the Supreme Court Zaza Meishvili said today at the presentation of statistical data on the activity of judges for the first six months of 2012.
He said that the rate of considering criminal cases in courts decreased. Around 7218 criminal cases were submitted to the courts within the first six months of 2011. Around 5907 cases have been submitted this year.
Meishvili said that statistical analysis of criminal cases has shown that judges in most cases do not use prison as a sentence. Prison sentences were not used in 57.6 per cent of cases. He added that the courts often use useful public, community work as a punishment.
He added that the number of acquittals increased. In particular, there were 83 set free within the first six months of 2012, or 3.4 times more than last year.
According to the statistics, more and more citizens appeal to the courts. Meishvili said that 954 more civil cases were submitted to the courts in the first instance within six months of 2012 or six per cent more compared to last year. Moreover, 375 more administrative cases or 7.9 per cent were submitted.