On June 1, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) hosted a presentation of the textbook “International Environmental Law” by Maia Bitadze, Associate Professor at TSU, Chair of the Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Committee of the Parliament of Georgia.

“This is the first textbook in International Environmental Law published in Georgian. Maia Bitadze was the first professor to offer this course as a discipline to our students at the Faculty of Law. The International Environmental Law faces a lot of challenges today and it is important that students, all interested persons be able to get acquainted with the book based on the results of modern research in Georgian,” Tamar Zarandia, Dean of the TSU Faculty of Law, noted.

Representatives of the Parliament of Georgia, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, non-governmental organizations and academia attended the presentation.

“Creation of new textbooks is very important for the development of the field and the academic system, in general. The field itself is particularly important - Environmental Law, its international dimension, we have not had a textbook in this area before. It can be said boldly that Maia Bitadze created the textbook of international standards, which will give a new impetus to the development of this field,” TSU Professor, MP Irakli Kobakhidze said.    

Solomon Pavliashvili, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, noted “the book actually covers all aspects of environmental protection: climate change, biodiversity, water resources, waste management and, most importantly, the conventions and agreements that our country is currently fulfilling as a commitment under the EU Association Agreement.”

“The book clarifies the basic principles, subjects, sources of international environmental law. Among them, the book reflects one of the most important directions - environmental rights, the connection between healthy life and environmental protection. I think the book will be interesting for academic staff and will be useful as a Georgian-language literature to educate future lawyers who are well-aware of the basics of international environmental law,” Maia Bitadze, the author of the textbook, said.

Since 2015, Maia Bitadze, Associate Professor at TSU, Chair of the Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, has twice been elected as Chair of the Bureau of the Meeting of the Parties to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) - Aarhus Convention (on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental issues in the EU) and Working Group of the Aarhus Convention. The textbook “International Environmental Law” provides the history of international environmental law, as well as detailed information on international institutions working in the field of environment, international legal instruments adopted in this field and their enforcement mechanisms.