The Place of Court Reporting in Civil Proceedings
Court reporting is one of the most important elements of civil proceedings: an accurate record of the hearing creates the factual basis without which neither a review of the decision nor the resolution of a dispute about what happened in the courtroom is possible. Under the Civil Procedure Code, the drawing up of minutes is mandatory for each session of the court and for each procedural act performed outside a session in which parties, their representatives, witnesses, experts and specialists participate. The record thus performs a binding legal function, and its quality is often decisive — a precise protocol may itself become the basis for verifying evidence.
Openness of the Hearing and the Rules of Recording
The Code establishes that all cases in court are heard at open sessions unless this contradicts the interests of protecting state secrets; a hearing in closed session is also admissible in other cases provided by legislation, upon the motivated motion of a party, about which the court issues a motivated ruling. Photography, filming and video recording, stenography and audio recording in the court building and during the hearing of a civil case are carried out according to the rules established by the Organic Law of Georgia on Common Courts. Proceedings are conducted in the state language, and an interpreter is appointed for a person who does not know the state language. A closed session is attended by the parties and their representatives and, where necessary, by witnesses, experts, specialists and interpreters.
Contents of the Minutes and the Required Data
Where recording by technical means is impossible, minutes are drawn up which must record the year, month, day and place of the session, the time of its beginning and end, the name and composition of the court hearing the case and the secretary of the session, the name of the case, information about the appearance of the parties' representatives, witnesses, experts and interpreters, and information on the explanation to the parties of their procedural rights and duties. The minutes further record the orders of the court and the rulings issued without going to the deliberation room, the explanations of the parties and their representatives, the testimony of witnesses, the clarifications of experts' conclusions, the data on the inspection of material and written evidence, the content of the parties' arguments, information on the announcement of the decision and the ruling, and the explanation of the content of the decision, of the procedure and of the deadline for appeal. Where recording by technical means is possible, the minutes contain the essential data together with the particulars of the parties, representatives, witnesses and other persons invited to the session, including the time and duration of their statements.