The Right to Apply and the Guarantee of Being Heard
Any person has the right to apply to an administrative organ for the resolution of a matter within that organ's competence which directly and immediately concerns the person's rights and lawful interests. Unless the law provides otherwise, the administrative organ is obliged to consider an application submitted on a matter within its competence and to adopt an appropriate decision. This means that the organ cannot simply ignore an applicant's approach: the matter is either decided on its merits, or the application is dealt with in the manner established by law.
An important guarantee is the right to be heard: an administrative organ may consider and decide a matter only if the interested party whose right or lawful interest is restricted by an administrative-legal act has been given the opportunity to submit their own view. An exception to this rule is established only by law. Applications and administrative complaints connected with children are given priority in their consideration, so an approach substantially affecting a child's interests is examined faster than an ordinary one.
The Language of Proceedings and the Computation of Time Limits
The language of administrative proceedings is Georgian, and in Abkhazia also Abkhazian. A person dealing with organs operating on the territory of Abkhazia can therefore avail themselves of proceedings conducted in Abkhazian — an important element of linguistic accessibility.
In computing the time limits indicated in the Code, non-working days and days of rest established by Georgian labour legislation are not counted. This rule applies to the time limits indicated in the Code and in practice means that the number of working days determines when an applicant's or an organ's period of action expires. When calculating a concrete deadline, a calendar must always be taken into account in accordance with this rule.
Mutual Assistance Between Administrative Organs
An administrative organ is obliged, within the limits of its competence and with the means at its disposal, to render necessary legal assistance to another administrative organ on the basis of a corresponding written request. This obligation ensures that an applicant's rights are not violated merely because the information or capability needed to resolve the matter lies with another organ. An organ may apply to another organ with a request for legal assistance if:
- it cannot carry out the action itself for legal or factual reasons;
- it does not have sufficient knowledge of the facts necessary for performing the action, while the corresponding administrative organ possesses that knowledge;
- the documents or other evidence necessary for deciding the matter are held by the corresponding administrative organ;
- the costs necessary for performing the action by its own means substantially exceed the costs to be incurred by the other administrative organ in rendering the assistance.
A refusal to render legal assistance is possible on only two grounds: where it exceeds the limits of the competence conferred on the organ by legislation, or where the assistance would harm the interests of the state or of a municipality, or the fulfilment of obligations imposed by law on that organ. In the event of a refusal, the organ is obliged to give written notice of it to the organ that made the request within 3 days. A dispute between organs over the rendering of legal assistance is resolved by the common superior administrative organ and, where none exists, by a court. An action is submitted to court only after receiving a written refusal of assistance from the superior organ of the corresponding organ.
As regards costs, the organ requesting the assistance is obliged to reimburse the costs necessary for rendering the legal assistance if they exceed 50 GEL. If costs exceeding that amount are anticipated, the organ must be notified in advance — the law thereby indirectly prevents the assistance from becoming costly precisely because of its use.
Official Certification of Documents
An administrative organ is entitled to certify copies of administrative acts or other documents issued by it or by its subordinate organ, provided the content of the original and of the copy correspond to each other. Copies certified and issued in the proper manner have official force and confirm their identity with the original. A document whose content has been altered or whose integrity has been violated cannot be certified.
Upon certification a certification sheet is drawn up which must contain the exact name of the document, confirmation of the copy's correspondence with the original, the time and place of certification, the signature of the responsible official and the official seal. Every page of the certified copy must bear the official seal and the signature of the responsible official. The certification must be registered in the organ in the established manner, which additionally secures the official status of the copy.
The Public Expert
A public expert is deemed to be a natural or legal person, as well as scientific-consultative (expert) bodies created by an administrative organ in the manner established by legislation; a member of a public expert institution is likewise deemed an expert. In a case provided for by law, the organ is obliged to apply to an expert institution or a public expert for an expert conclusion, and it is obliged to present to the expert the information necessary for the conclusion.
A public expert is obliged to submit the conclusion within the period determined by law or by the organ, to perform the assigned duty impartially and conscientiously, and to be answerable for non-performance or improper performance of it. Unless the law provides otherwise, the expiry of the expert's period cannot hinder the issuance of the administrative-legal act. The identity of the expert who presented a conclusion on the act is noted in the reasoning of the act, except for experts who ensure the evaluation of projects submitted within the framework of a competition for funding scientific grants and innovative projects — their identity is confidential.
The requirement to protect secret information extends to the expert as well: the expert may not disclose secret information learned while performing the duty, and this obligation remains in force even after the expert has been relieved of the duty. The expert is reimbursed every necessary expense incurred in performing the duty, provided the organ is notified in advance of the necessity of incurring it.
The Force of the Conclusion and the Expert's Dismissal
Unless the law provides otherwise, the conclusion of a public expert is not binding on the administrative organ. However, a refusal to take the expert's conclusion into account must be reasoned — the organ cannot simply dismiss it without motivation. This rule balances the value of specialised knowledge against the administrative organ's own competence.
A public expert is relieved of the duty before the expiry of the term by the organ that adopted the decision on the expert's appointment, if the expert grossly violates the assigned duty, does not meet the requirements set for holding this position, or personally refuses to give a conclusion. Such dismissal differs from the ordinary expiry of the term of appointment, and it is precisely the expert's conduct that determines the early termination of the duty.