Georgian Bar Qualification Exam cheat sheet

Georgian Civil Code Art. 1 fixes the sources hierarchy: normative acts of civil legislation prevail over custom, and custom over analogy of law; analogy of law precedes analogy of right.

Legal capacity (ქმედუნარიანობა) of a natural person arises in full at 18; minors aged 14–18 may conclude transactions only with the consent of their legal representative, except transactions of minor everyday value.

Declaring a person missing or dead: the court may declare a person missing after 1 year of absence at the last known residence and dead after 3 years; a shortened 6-month term applies where the person disappeared under circumstances threatening death.

Limitation period (მოძველების ვადა) is generally 3 years from the moment the creditor learned or should have learned of the violation of the right and of the debtor; the maximum objective period is 10 years.

A claim is admissible only if the plaintiff holds a substantive legal interest; the court returns a statement of claim (not dismisses) where procedural preconditions such as payment of state fee or prior dispute resolution are unmet.

Jurisdiction rules: claims against a natural person are filed at the defendant's place of residence (General jurisdiction, CPC Art. 14); parties may agree on contractual jurisdiction only where the CPC expressly permits it.

Default judgment (საყოველთაოდ აღიარებული) may be rendered if the defendant, duly summoned, fails to appear without a justified excuse; the defendant may request its annulment within 10 days of service.

Appeal deadlines: a first-instance judgment may be appealed within 1 month of its reasoned text being served; a cassation complaint to the Supreme Court within 1 month of service of the appellate judgment.

Court fee in civil cases is calculated as a percentage of the claim value, scaled by brackets; claims not subject to valuation carry a fixed fee, and certain categories (e.g., labor, alimony) are exempt.

Legality principle (Criminal Code Art. 1): no act is a crime and no penalty applies unless the act was defined as criminal by law at the time it was committed; no analogy is permitted to the detriment of the accused.

The Criminal Code's territorial principle (Art. 4) applies to crimes committed on Georgian territory; extraterritorial application follows the active and passive personality principles and the protective principle.

Penalty types (Art. 40): fine, deprivation of the right to hold office, community service, corrective labor, restriction of liberty, imprisonment, and life imprisonment; the death penalty is abolished.

Aggravating circumstance of a repeated offense and recidivism is regulated by CC Arts. 17–19; a prior conviction is expunged after the statutory period, after which it cannot be counted as recidivism.

Criminal procedure: a person may be detained without a court decision for no more than 48 hours; the prosecutor must apply to court for pre-trial detention within that period.

Pre-trial detention (აღკვეთის ღონისძიება) is imposed by a judge on the prosecutor's motion; the maximum duration is 9 months (extended to 12 months for especially grave crimes), after which the measure must be replaced or lifted.

Evidence obtained in violation of the law is inadmissible; the defense may move to exclude it at any stage before the trial's end, and the court rules by reasoned order.

The jury trial applies to certain grave and especially grave crimes against life and sexual inviolability; the defendant may waive the jury and be tried by a panel of three judges.

The appeal against a first-instance criminal judgment is filed within 1 month of service of the reasoned judgment; cassation to the Supreme Court is admissible only on points of law, not on factual findings.

Administrative act (ადმინისტრაციული აქტი) is a unilateral authoritative decision of an administrative body addressed to specific persons and creating, changing, or terminating rights or obligations; it must be reasoned and served in writing.

Administrative procedure requires prior hearing of the affected party; failure to hear renders the act voidable, and the party may complain to the higher body or to the court.

Administrative complaint (საჩივარი) is filed with the higher administrative body within 1 month of service of the act; filing it is optional unless a special law makes it a precondition.

Court challenge to an administrative act is filed with the administrative court within 1 month of service of the act or of the decision on the complaint; the missed deadline may be restored for valid reasons.

Administrative court procedure applies the Administrative Procedure Code; the CPC applies subsidiarily where the APC is silent. The court may examine legality ex officio.

Administrative penalty (სანქცია) may be imposed only by an authorized body, within the statutory limitation period (generally 1 year from the offense, 3 years for grave violations), and after hearing the person.

Public procurement, licensing, and state service disputes follow special administrative procedures; the general administrative court has jurisdiction unless a special law assigns it to another body.

A public official's disciplinary liability is separate from administrative and criminal liability; disciplinary sanction is imposed by the appointing authority following an internal inquiry.

Enforcement of an administrative act is suspended by filing a court claim only where the court so orders or the law provides; the mere filing does not automatically suspend execution.

Georgia is a democratic republic (Constitution Art. 1); state power is exercised through referendum, elections, and representative bodies, and the Constitution has supreme legal force directly applicable.

Fundamental rights may be restricted only by law, for a legitimate aim, and proportionally; the restriction must not impair the essence of the right (proportionality test).

The Constitutional Court of Georgia (Arts. 60–63) reviews the constitutionality of normative acts on the motion of the President, members of Parliament, the Public Defender, courts, or citizens whose rights are affected.

A constitutional claim by a natural person is admissible only if the person has exhausted ordinary remedies or the act directly affects them; the claim must be filed within 6 months of the exhaustion.

The President is elected by the Electoral College for 5 years; the President is the head of state and guarantor of national unity, with limited executive powers after the 2017–2018 constitutional reform.

The Parliament is unicameral with 150 members elected for 4 years; a vote of no confidence in the Government requires a majority of the full membership (76 votes).

The Public Defender (Ombudsman) is elected by Parliament for 5 years and is independent; the Defender may apply to the Constitutional Court and inspect places of detention.

Citizenship: Georgian citizenship is acquired by birth, naturalization, or restoration; dual citizenship is generally prohibited except where permitted by the President's decision under statutory conditions.

International treaties ratified by Parliament prevail over domestic ordinary laws but not over the Constitution; the Constitutional Court may review their constitutionality.

A contract is concluded by offer and acceptance; acceptance must reach the offeror within the deadline set in the offer, and a late acceptance operates as a new offer.

Contract form: transactions above 1,000 GEL must be in writing where the law requires; immovable property transactions require notarization and registration to be valid against third parties.

A contract is void where it violates a mandatory legal norm, is contrary to public order or morality, or is concluded by an incapacitated person; voidable where concluded under mistake, fraud, duress, or undue influence.

Breach remedies (CC Arts. 394 et seq.): specific performance, damages (including lost profit), and rescission; damages are limited by the foreseeability rule and the duty to mitigate.

Penalty (ჯარიმა) and interest may be cumulated only within statutory limits; a penalty exceeding the principal obligation may be reduced by the court.

Obligations are performed in kind; a debtor in default bears liability for accidental loss unless the loss would have occurred regardless of default.

Assignment of claim requires the debtor's consent only where the law or contract so provides; the debtor may raise against the assignee all defenses existing at the time of assignment.

Limitation: the general limitation period for contractual claims is 3 years; for claims arising from immovable property it is 6 years, and for certain family and labor claims special periods apply.

Unjust enrichment (CC Art. 477) obliges the recipient to return the enrichment; the claim is excluded where the recipient has lost the enrichment or the transfer was made with knowledge of the absence of obligation.

The Advocates Act and the Code of Ethics of the Georgian Bar Association bind every admitted advocate; the Bar Association maintains the disciplinary body and the register of advocates.

Duty of confidentiality covers all information learned in the course of representation, including after termination of the mandate; disclosure is permitted only with the client's consent or where the law expressly requires it.

Conflict of interest: an advocate may not represent two clients whose interests conflict; on discovering a conflict, the advocate must withdraw from at least one mandate and inform both clients.

An advocate may not act against a former client in a substantially related matter where confidential information could be used to the former client's detriment.

Fees must be agreed in writing; contingency fees are permitted within statutory limits but a fee may not depend on the outcome of a criminal case in a manner that compromises independence.

Advertising and solicitation are restricted: an advocate may not use misleading, comparative, or guarantee-based advertising, and may not initiate contact with prospective clients.

An advocate must maintain independence from the state, the court, and third parties; the advocate's duty to the court does not override the duty to the client's lawful interests.

Disciplinary liability: sanctions range from warning to disbarment; the disciplinary body must observe due process, and the advocate may appeal the decision to the general meeting or to court.

An advocate may not refuse a court appointment without a valid excuse; appointed counsel has the same duties as retained counsel, including confidentiality and zealous representation.

A statement of claim must state: the court, the parties and their addresses, the factual and legal basis, the claim amount, the evidence, and the date and signature; omission of mandatory elements leads to leaving the claim without movement.

IRAC structure (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion) is the standard for legal analysis; each legal conclusion must be tied to a specific statutory provision or precedent.

Citation format: cite the normative act, article, and paragraph (e.g., Civil Code Art. 394(1)); cite court judgments by case number and date, and Constitutional Court judgments by number and date.

Legal argument must distinguish holding from dictum; a precedent is binding only to the extent of its ratio decidendi, and a court may distinguish facts to avoid application.

Persuasive writing: state the strongest argument first, answer the opponent's best counterargument (steel-manning), and avoid conclusory adjectives without factual support.

Procedural motions must be reasoned and filed in writing; an oral motion is recorded in the protocol, and the court rules by reasoned order subject to appeal.

Time limits in pleadings: the statement of claim is filed before the limitation period expires; the court checks the limitation ex officio only where the defendant raises it, unless the law provides otherwise.

Evidence presentation: each fact must be proven by admissible evidence; the burden of proof lies on the party asserting the fact, and the court evaluates evidence by inner conviction, not by formal hierarchy.

ECHR rights are directly applicable in Georgian courts; the Convention and its Protocols are part of Georgian law and prevail over ordinary legislation by virtue of ratification.

ECHR admissibility (Art. 35): the applicant must exhaust domestic remedies, file within 4 months of the final domestic decision, and not have the matter already submitted to another international procedure.

The Court's jurisdiction is subsidiary; the margin of appreciation is narrower for restrictions on core rights (Art. 3 absolute; Arts. 2, 5, 6 less margin) and wider for economic and social policy.

Article 6 fair trial guarantees apply to civil rights and obligations and to criminal charges; the right to a reasoned judgment and to adversarial proceedings is inherent.

Article 8 privacy and Article 10 expression require a three-part test: prescribed by law, legitimate aim, necessary in a democratic society (proportionality).

Protocol No. 1 Art. 1 protects property; expropriation must be lawful, for a public purpose, and with compensation; regulatory interference is assessed by the fair balance test.

Georgia is a party to the Rome Statute and the Geneva Conventions; treaty obligations may be invoked before domestic courts where the treaty is self-executing.

The European Convention's execution is supervised by the Committee of Ministers; a judgment finding a violation obliges the state to pay just satisfaction (Art. 41) and to take individual and general measures.

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (Arts. 31–32): a treaty is interpreted in good faith in accordance with the ordinary meaning of its terms in their context and in light of its object and purpose.