2025 Georgia Family Law Trends: Mediation, Transparency & Court Efficiency

Georgia family law 2025 is being shaped by three powerful currents: a continued push toward mediation in family disputes, a mixed (but evolving) picture on judicial transparency, and steady—if uneven—efforts to modernize courts and reduce backlogs. For clients in Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi, Rustavi and beyond, these trends affect how fast cases move, how much they cost, and how predictable outcomes can be.

 

Mediation moves mainstream in family cases

Georgia’s Law on Mediation has now bedded in (effective since 2020), with court-annexed mediation centers—especially in Tbilisi City Court—becoming a routine off-ramp for many family disputes. Practice guides built on Tbilisi’s experience give courts and in-court mediation centers a step-by-step playbook aligned with the Law on Mediation and the Civil Procedure Code, which is why more judges suggest mediation early—sometimes before the first full evidentiary hearing. (UNDP)

Under the Civil Procedure framework, family disputes are explicitly within the scope of court mediation, alongside select inheritance, neighbor and labor matters. That legal scaffolding matters: it lets parents resolve custody, parenting time, and property questions confidentially, then convert a settlement into an enforceable court act. For many families, that’s faster and less bruising than a full trial. (Lawandworld)

On the international front, Georgia signed the Singapore Convention on Mediation in 2019—signal of a long-term policy direction to normalize mediated solutions (including cross-border enforcement of mediated settlements once ratified and implemented). For mixed-nationality families or expats, this is a positive strategic backdrop. (Kluwer Mediation Blog)

What this means for you: if you’re entering a custody or property dispute, expect a judge to ask whether mediation is realistic. Prepare like you would for a settlement conference: bring RS.ge income disclosures, asset lists, school and medical records, and a workable parenting schedule proposal. A focused, evidence-backed offer often resolves 70–90% of the practical pain points before positions harden.

 

Transparency: new rules vs. real-world access

On paper, 2023–2024 amendments improved the proactive publication of judicial acts, removing the requirement that a decision be “final” before publication and widening what must be posted. That looked like an unequivocal win for open justice. (https://idfi.ge/ge)

But 2025 has been mixed. Civil society monitors report gaps: limited or delayed publication of statistics, and slow or no responses to targeted requests for decisions in high-public-interest cases. One August 2025 analysis highlighted that top courts haven’t consistently published judicial statistics since 2023, hampering public oversight. Another review of 111 information requests (2024–Q1 2025) found most were ignored or refused. For litigants and lawyers, that means planning with less visibility into timelines and trends than ideal. (https://idfi.ge/ge)

Practical takeaway: when your case hinges on comparable outcomes (e.g., typical parenting-time patterns or enforcement results), your lawyer may need to rely more on in-court experience and targeted motions than on public dashboards. Where transparency gaps exist, be ready to build the evidentiary record proactively.

 

Court efficiency: backlog tools, cyber-justice and case allocation

The Council of Europe’s CEPEJ continues multi-year work with Georgian courts to cut backlogs, shorten case length, and modernize management—including piloting a backlog-reduction tool in Batumi City Court and rolling projects that encourage judges to refer more cases to mediation. The EU-supported project also pushes better data collection on mediation using the CEPEJ toolkit. (Portal, EU for Georgia)

At the same time, the European Commission’s 2024 country report called for full application of the automatic case-allocation system and broader cyber-justice tools; it noted that only ~62% of cases were allocated by the system at the time of review—underlining the work still to do for predictable, random assignment across all courts. (Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood)

Client impact: modernization is real (especially outside the courtroom—scheduling, data, internal workflows), but it’s uneven. Mediated settlements and well-prepared early hearings are still your best route to quicker results. When trial is unavoidable, detailed, organized filings and tight issue-framing help your judge manage time and reduce continuances.

 

Safety and protection orders: electronic monitoring continues to expand

Family cases often intersect with domestic-violence protections. Georgia has implemented electronic monitoring (bracelets) for high-risk perpetrators—an additional layer on top of restraining orders. The policy, developed with UN Women and implemented by the Ministry of Internal Affairs/112, uses GPS-based alerts to prevent approach violations. If safety is at issue in your case, expect risk assessments to consider electronic monitoring and upgraded restraining-order tools introduced in recent years. (UN Women ECA, 112.gov.ge, police.ge)

 

What we’re seeing in day-to-day family practice (2025)

• Judicial nudges to mediate are stronger, especially in Tbilisi and Batumi. If both sides are represented and ready with data, single-session mediations often yield partial agreements (e.g., parenting calendars) that narrow what’s left for the judge. (Portal)

• Transparency is a patchwork. The law has improved publication rules, but practical access to decisions and stats is inconsistent. Build your case assuming fewer public comparators. (https://idfi.ge/ge)

• Cyber-justice is coming in layers, not overnight. Expect continued rollout of case-management improvements and time-to-disposition monitoring, plus more mediation referrals as a system-wide efficiency tool. (Portal)

• Protective-order enforcement increasingly leverages tech; if violence risks are present, courts have more tools to maintain distance and safety. (112.gov.ge)

 

How to use these trends to your advantage

1. Lead with a mediation plan. Arrive at the first case-management conference with a realistic proposal: custody schedule, holiday plan, transition logistics, and a property spreadsheet (assets, debts, proposed splits). Judges are more likely to set an early mediation date when they see serious settlement intent. (UNDP)

2. Front-load your evidence. Because transparency tools are inconsistent, your record is everything: RS.ge income proofs, bank statements, deeds, school/health records, and any prior protective orders or police reports. (https://idfi.ge/ge)

3. Ask for time-boxing. In contested hearings, request focused witness lists and page-limited briefs. This helps your judge manage the calendar and keeps momentum. (Portal)

4. Address safety early. If there’s risk of violence or interference, discuss electronic monitoring and strict no-contact boundaries as part of interim measures. (112.gov.ge)

 

Bottom line for families in Georgia

The direction of travel is clear: more mediation, more (intended) openness, and more management tools to keep cases moving. Implementation isn’t perfect—2025 brought fresh transparency concerns even as legal rules improved publication—but families who come prepared to mediate, document thoroughly, and focus the dispute see faster, more durable outcomes. (https://idfi.ge/ge)