Part II: Challenges and opportunities 46 Independent forensic medical services in Georgia By Professor Rusudan Beriashvili, MD, PhD Associate Professor of Forensic Medicine, Department of Forensic Medicine, Tbilisi State Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia Until 2001, the forensic medical service in Georgia was represented by two official state organisations, the Department of Forensic Medicine of Tbilisi State Medical University (TSMU) and the Bureau of Forensic Medical Investigations of the Ministry of Health. In 2001, following changes to the Criminal Code of Georgia, the first independent forensic medical services began to appear and soon all institutional forensic services were abolished. In 2004 the government formed the National Forensics Bureau (www.forensics.ge) under the Ministry of Justice. This meant that the state forensic medical service was almost completely separated from the health system. During the last 4-5 years a few independent forensic medical institutions have appeared to growing popularity. The majority have a psychiatric profile; two are specifically focused on forensic medicine. Both have limited capacity due to lack of funding, laboratory access and practical equipment. They mostly focus on clinical forensic medical investigations, evaluation of forensic evidence and participation in the joint commissions for secondary forensic medical investigations. There are two state institutions with a forensic medical profile in Georgia today: the Department of Forensic Medicine of TSMU is an academic institution with a leading teaching, scientific, methodological and theoretical profile. It is considered a non-specialized institution for forensic medical investigations, whose responsibilities, obligations and possibilities are not clearly determined by domestic legislation, which significantly restricts its practical work and opportunities to perform independent forensic investigations. The Department of Forensic Medical Investigations of the National Forensics Bureau is the only “specialized” state institution and thus authorised to perform primary forensic medical investigations. It is a well equipped and well financed organisation with a strong legislative background. However, despite continuous efforts by the institution’s medical staff to