Dolidze named Georgian Parliamentary Secretary
August 08, 2016
Western Law professor Anna Dolidze was recently appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the President of Georgia with her first assignment being the facilitation of the approval of new Supreme Court judges.
“Mrs. Anna Dolidze will be trying now to convince lawmakers that they should make this important decision,” said Georgia President Giorgi Margvelashvili, adding the Supreme Court of Georgia faces a difficult situation where the Criminal Chamber is not operating, as there are no judges.
Dolidze faced threats and intimidation after becoming a vocal critic of the Georgian government’s abuse of power. In 2007, she left Georgia for New York University as part of the Scholars at Risk program. Each year, some 250 member institutions in 30 countries host as many as 60 ‘scholars at risk’ on their campuses, while providing another 1,000 scholars in dangerous situations with advice and other forms of support.
In 2012, Dolidze joined Western Law to teach and research in the area of International Law as the university’s first Scholar at Risk. Western is among six Canadian universities that are members of the Scholars at Risk Network.
In 2015, Dolidze took a leave of absence from Western when she was appointed Deputy Minister for Defence of the Republic of Georgia, where she focused on human rights, international relations and international law activities of the ministry, as well as cooperation with NATO and the rights of veterans.
Prior to joining Western Law, Dolidze served at a number of international and non-governmental organizations, including Human Rights Watch, the Russian Justice Initiative and Save the Children. From 2004-06, she was the President of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, the largest legal advocacy organization in the Republic of Georgia. She also served at the National Constitutional Commission, Commission for the Human Rights in Prisons and the Expert Commission for Georgia’s European Integration.
