On 20 October 2023, the jubilee collection dedicated to celebrating the 60th birthday of Mr Lado Chanturia, the judge of the European Court of Human Rights elected in respect of Georgia and a professor at the Tbilisi State University Law Faculty, was presented at the TSU. Many academicians from Georgia and other countries attended the presentation.

The jubilee collection consisting of more than 30 articles by Georgian and foreign academics was edited by Professor Tamar Zarandia, the Dean of the TSU Law Faculty, and Professor Besarion Zoidze. The TSU Vice-Rector, Ms Nino Gvenetadze, addressed the audience at the event, speaking about Professor Lado Chanturia's academic and professional journey and his contributions to the building of the Georgian state. She highlighted Professor Lado Chanturia’s invaluable role in developing Georgian private law, doctrine and judicial practice.

The Dean, Professor Tamar Zarandia, observed that “Professor Lado Chanturia's work has laid the foundation for modern Georgian law. He paved the way for many Georgian lawyers in European research and educational institutions, marking a turning point in their academic and professional development. I congratulate him on his 60th birthday and thank him for his contribution to the development of Georgian law, thereby strengthening the Georgian state. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Professor Lado Chanturia is a unique example of professionalism, academics, humility and humanity,” said Professor Tamar Zarandia.

Professor Besarion Zoidze discussed Professor Lado Chanturia's work and contribution to the development of Georgian law. The creation of the Civil Code of Georgia was an historical event and Professor Lado Chanturia's Western education, as a member of the Editorial Commission of the Civil Code, played a decisive role in establishing the system of values system of the Civil Code of Georgia.

During the presentation of the jubilee collection, it was announced that Professor Lado Chanturia had been elected as a full member of the Academy of Europe (Academia Europaea). Academician David Lortkipanidze, the Head of the National Museum of Georgia, and Mr David Prangishvili, the Academic Director of the Tbilisi Knowledge Hub of the Academy of Europe, shared this news with the audience.

Professors of foreign universities and Mr Lado Chanturia’s colleagues, who have collaborated with him and continue to be his close friends, addressed the audience, recalling the years of their cooperation.

Professor Rolf Knieper, who, together with Professor Sergo Jorbenadze, co-headed the editorial commission of the Civil Code of Georgia, recalled his first meeting with Professor Lado Chanturia and talked about his experience of working with him. As Professor Knieper observed, Professor Lado Chanturia was a person whose erudition played a pivotal role in the Europeanisation of Georgian private law. Professor Rolf Knieper himself made an invaluable contribution to the formation and development of Georgian law. He is a recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from the Tbilisi State University and an honorary citizen of Georgia. On his 80th birthday, Professor Rolf Knieper was awarded the TSU gold medal for his special service to Georgia and the university.

Professor Angelika Nussberger, the former Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights, former Vice-Rector and currently a professor at the University of Cologne and a recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from TSU, spoke about Professor Lado Chanturia's personality and professionalism, emphasising his special role in the activities of the European Court of Human Rights. Professor Angelika Nussberger is one of the founders of Cologne University’s LLM programme and she collaborates actively with the TSU Faculty of Law alongside Professor Giorgi Khubua.

The Director of the Institute of East European Law of Kiel University, a recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from the TSU, Alexander Trunk addressed the audience and highlighted Professor Lado Chanturia's significant contribution to the development of civil law, which was acknowledged by the Honorary Doctorate bestowed upon him by Kiel University. Professor Lado Chanturia is the first Georgian lawyer to receive this honour from a German university in recognition of his exceptional merit.

Professor Maidan Suleimenov of Caspian University, the founder of private law of Kazakhstan, and Professor Farkhad Karagussov highlighted Professor Lado Chanturia's special impact on the development of Kazakhstani private law and presented a national attire to him. Mr Maidan Suleimenov also described Professor Lado Chanturia as a “Citizen of the World,” an internationally acclaimed academic and a public figure.

Addressing the audience, Professor Lado Chanturia expressed his gratitude, describing the anniversary collection as the most coveted gift for an academic. He thanked the editors, contributors and everyone involved in the publication, especially highlighting the work of Professor Besarion Zoidze and Professor Tamar Zarandia, the editors of the Jubilee collection.

“I would like to extend my special gratitude to the editors of the jubilee collection, Professor Besarion Zoidze, and the Dean of the Law Faculty, Professor Tamar Zarandia. I am well aware of the many challenges related to the effort of this scale. Many thanks to all the authors and the publisher for their work in preparing and publishing this collection. I am deeply grateful to my faculty and university for this exceptional gift! It is the greatest gift for an academic.”

Professor Lado Chanturia emphasised the unique value of the collection as the authors of the articles of the highest academic significance are individuals connected to him in terms of the most important parts of his life. He spoke about the contribution and merit of each person in the development of Georgian private law. It should be noted that Professor Jürgen Basedow, the Director of the Hamburg Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, a world-renowned legal scholar, a recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from TSU, and a great friend of Georgia, published his final article in the jubilee collection.

Professor Lado Chanturia's contribution to the shaping of Georgian private law is indeed truly exceptional. Professor Chanturia is rightfully regarded as an outstanding and globally recognised scholar in Georgian civil law and, more broadly, modern Georgian jurisprudence. The creation of an entirely new Georgian legal doctrine was of central importance thereby facilitating the practical implementation of the Civil Code.

Professor Lado Chanturia is the author of numerous excellent works but we will mention only some of them. The first commentary to the Civil Code of Georgia, edited by him, was published in six volumes and they marked a ground-breaking event in the realm of Georgian legal academic discourse. Since its publication, the initial commentary on the Civil Code has evolved into a reference source in the field, integral to both practical application and academic discourse. Currently, the TSU Faculty of Law, under the continued editorship of Professor Lado Chanturia, is still carrying out the civil code commentaries project, ensuring its development into a cohesive textual corpus.

Following the initial commentary on the Civil Code, Professor Lado Chanturia has written a series of handbooks and monographs that laid the foundations of private law. Of note in this context is Professor Chanturia's ability to articulate complex legal constructions in clear and understandable language, a quality particularly vital for legal doctrine and practice.

Professor Lado Chanturia is the author of numerous monographs and approximately 300 researches. His contributions across all domains of private law stand as invaluable assets in the realm of Georgian legal doctrine. Serving as the President of the Supreme Court of Georgia for years, Professor Lado Chanturia based important judgments on European doctrine, significantly contributing to the development of jurisprudence in Georgia.

In addition, Professor Lado Chanturia consistently supports young Georgian lawyers and is exceptionally popular among students. For years, it has been a tradition to award semester scholarships, supported by him, to students with outstanding academic performance at our faculty, providing them with an additional incentive to thrive.

The immense contribution of Mrs. Lia Shatberashvili, who devoted a great effort to the anniversary collection, is noteworthy. The unique font used for the cover design of the Jubilee collection, crafted by calligrapher Mr David Maisuradze, is worth noting. Special appreciation is owed to the TSU Publishing House for their vital role in this truly important publication. We extend our gratitude to Tamar Ergemlidze, a doctoral student at the Faculty of Law at TSU, for providing translation during the presentation of the jubilee collection.

The Students’ Capella of Tbilisi State University concluded the meeting with the old Latin student song Gaudeamus Igitur in honour of Professor Lado Chanturia.

Once again, TSU Faculty of Law congratulates Professor Lado Chanturia and his family on his 60th birthday. This jubilee collection, dedicated to his 60th birthday, featuring the articles by his colleagues and friends will be of great interest to Georgian readers.

We wish Professor Lado Chanturia many more years of dedicated and distinguished service for the benefit of our country and its people.