“For building and safeguarding Georgian democracy and sustaining civic power in the face of an autocratic crackdown.”
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) is Georgia’s oldest and most prominent human rights organisation, founded in 1994 by volunteer lawyers who helped draft the country’s first post-independence constitution. In the decades since, the organisation has played a crucial role in the country’s democratisation, earning the recognition as the moral compass of Georgian society.
GYLA’s work ranges from providing grassroots legal aid to working at the national and international levels to uphold human rights. It has secured landmark legal victories that reshaped national policy, from ensuring rights for people with disabilities to guaranteeing free education to every child in Georgia and compelling compensation for Soviet-era repression. It has provided 1.5 million free legal aid consultations – in a country with 3.7 million inhabitants – and served as the backbone of the country’s civil society.
Despite facing severe repression under Georgia’s new “foreign agents” laws, GYLA has chosen to remain in the country. It continues with a scaled-down team, focusing on the most pressing human rights work. With courage and determination, the organisation presses on for a better future for all Georgians.