Education:

• 1992-1999: Georgian Technical University, Faculty of Foreign Economic Relations. Master's Degree.
• 1999-2001: Moscow Diplomatic Academy, Faculty of International Relations. Specialist in International Relations.
• 2001-2005: Moscow Diplomatic Academy, Department of International Law. Doctor of Legal Sciences in International Law.

Professional Experience:

• 2018 – Director, LLC "Migration and Asylum Center";
• 2014–2018 – Head of the Department of Migration, Repatriation, and Refugee Issues, Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation, and Refugees of Georgia;
• 2012–2013 – Deputy Head of the Department of Migration, Repatriation, and Refugee Issues, Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation, and Refugees of Georgia;
• 2005–2018 – Legal Consultant for a joint project of the UNHCR and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation, and Refugees of Georgia;
• 1999-2001 – Head of the Migration, Refugees, and Repatriation Department, Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation of Georgia;
• 1998-1999 – Head of the Refugee and Repatriation Department, Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation of Georgia;
• Specialist in International Relations, Committee on Defense and Security, Parliament of Georgia;
• Leading Specialist, Department of Relations with Russia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia;
• Attaché, Department of Foreign Policy Information and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia;
• 2006-2018 – Member of the Council of Europe's Committee on Roma Issues;
• 2010-2018 – Chair of the Working Group on Migration Issues, Governmental Commission on Migration.

Qualifications:

• 2007: Course in Refugee Law, International Institute of Humanitarian Law, Sanremo, Italy;
• 2007: International Seminar on "Migration and Integration for Development: From Policy to Practice," Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Jerusalem;
• 2004: WMD Leaders Seminar on the International Program for Countering the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Budapest, Hungary;
• 2003: Seminar by the U.S. International Law Defense Institute on "Functions and Roles of the General Inspector," Tbilisi;
• 1999: Diplomatic Courses on "Diplomatic and Consular Law," Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran.

Scientific Works/Articles:

• Dissertation: "International Legal Aspects of Refugee Status: Examples from Russia and
  Georgia."
• Publication: "The Essence and Main Features of Refugee Rights," Law and Justice
  Journal, No. 3, 2004, Moscow.
• Publication: "Refugees: A New Threat to Europe," Bulletin of the Ministry of Foreign
  Affairs of Georgia, No. 10, 2002.
• Publication: "Refugees: The Global Problem of the 21st Century," Law and Justice
  Journal, No. 10, 2002, Moscow.

Awards:

• May 2011: Order of Honor.

Languages:

• Russian
• English

Irakli Kokaia is widely recognized as an international expert in immigration law, with a successful legal career.