---
title: "Appeal against an administrative detention decision within 48 hours (Art. 281¹)"
url: "https://legal.ge/en/service/administrative-and-public-law-en/appeal-against-an-administrative-detention-decision-within-48-hours-art-2811-en"
field: "Administrative & Public Law"
description: "Article 281¹: a court decision on administrative detention may be appealed once, within 48 hours of issuance, to the Court of Appeal. Legal.ge."
updated: "2026-10-14"
publisher: "legal.ge"
---

# Appeal against an administrative detention decision within 48 hours (Art. 281¹)

> Source: legal.ge, https://legal.ge/en/service/administrative-and-public-law-en/appeal-against-an-administrative-detention-decision-within-48-hours-art-2811-en

## Forty-eight hours, counted from when

Article 281¹ of the Administrative Offences Code of Georgia sets one specific deadline: a decision of the district (city) court on administrative detention may be appealed within 48 hours of its issuance. The wording repays attention. The clock starts when the decision is issued — not when it is served on the person, not when they read it, and not when a lawyer enters the case. The practical consequence is that the 48 hours run while the person is already in detention and their contact with the outside world is limited. For that reason the counting of this period has to become somebody's explicit responsibility from the first hours, rather than something that is noticed once the file is finally reviewed.

The rule has a further consequence: what matters is not only which day the decision was issued but which hour. The first practical step is therefore to establish and write down the exact time of issuance, ideally from the copy of the decision itself. Until that time is known, nobody can say how much of the window is left, or whether it has already closed.

The full text is available on legal.ge after signing in: https://legal.ge/en/service/administrative-and-public-law-en/appeal-against-an-administrative-detention-decision-within-48-hours-art-2811-en

### The 48 hours run from exactly what moment?

From the issuance of the decision. Article 281¹ ties the period to when the district (city) court issues its ruling, not to when it is served or read. Because the person is usually already in detention by then, establishing the exact time of issuance is the first practical step.

### Can the decision be appealed more than once?

No. The article provides for a single appeal. There is no second attempt, so the complaint has to be complete and reasoned when it is first filed, and filed with the correct court.

### Can a relative file the appeal?

Article 281¹ lists the person on whom detention was imposed, their advocate (legal representative), and the body or official that drew up the protocol. A relative who is neither an advocate nor a legal representative is not on that list, so the practical step for family is to engage an advocate without delay.

### Does filing the appeal stop the detention?

Article 281¹ sets the deadline and the forum; it does not state that filing suspends the serving of the detention, and the question of suspension is dealt with elsewhere in the Code rather than in this article. Either way, the 48 hours run from issuance, so filing as early inside that window as possible is what the deadline itself requires.