The PCA’s Secretary-General, Mr. Tjaco van den Hout, visited the Republic of Georgia in July 2007. He was the guest of the Minister of Justice of Georgia, Mr. Gia Kavtaradze. The Minister and the Secretary-General discussed the role of the PCA in resolving international disputes and the possibility of Georgia’s accession to the 1907 Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes and thereby becoming a member of the PCA. The Secretary-General also met with other senior members of the Government, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gela Bezhuashvili, the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Georgia, Mr. Konstantine Kublashvili, and the Speaker of Parliament, Ms. Nino Burjanadze.

This visit follows an earlier visit to Azerbaijan in June 2007. On June 22, the Secretary-General was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov. While in Baku, he participated in the Second CIS Local Counsel Forum, where he spoke on the role of the PCA with regard to international investment disputes.