Supreme Court of Georgia

A Working Meeting of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Supreme Court of Georgia

Published: 03/16/2018

Another working meeting of the Scientific Advisory Council on criminal law was held on March 14, 2018 at the Supreme Court of Georgia. The meeting was attended by representatives of Tbilisi Court of Appeals, City and District Courts and representatives of Probation and Correction Ministry of Georgia. The meeting was led by the judge of the Criminal Cases Chamber of the Supreme Court of Georgia, Giorgi Shavliashvili.

The topics covered at the session were as following: setting probation period when the decision on sentencing is made under article 59, par. 4 of the Criminal Code. The ministry of Probation and Correction presented a statement proving different approaches of judges to the issue. The same result was shown by the research done by national court practice and generalization department of the Supreme Court of Georgia. The meeting participants discussed aspects of setting the period from the moment of completing the first sentence.

The meeting also concerned the period of mandatory therapy under Article 191, par.2 of the Criminal Code of Georgia when the crime is committed by the inmate of the penitentiary system that was unfit to plead. The representatives of the ministry stated that the issue is not regulated by law and it is avoided by the judiciary as well, causing certain problems for the ministry. The meeting participants recommended that the judiciary reviewed the matter of  mandatory mental therapy for  the inmates in the period when he/she has been serving the first sentence and the issue of sending the prisoner back to the penitentiary establishment after completion of the medical therapy.  This matter caused very conflicting opinions and the audience could not reach final results. They agreed upon further meetings with greater representation and within another working group meeting of the scientific advisory council.