What Article 177¹³ of the Administrative Offences Code covers
Article 177¹³ of the Code of Administrative Offences of Georgia protects the regime of the outer restricted zone of a penitentiary institution. This is the territory around the institution where a special regime established by Georgian legislation applies: presence there, the bringing in and transfer of items, the provision of information and similar actions are restricted. The article establishes an administrative fine for a defined list of actions connected with this zone, where the act is directed at a person held in the penitentiary institution and does not give rise to criminal liability.
In practical terms this means that any unsanctioned activity in the outer restricted zone — from simply being present there to an attempt to bring something into the institution — can become the ground for an administrative case. If a case has been brought against you under this article, it is essential to establish precisely which concrete act is claimed to fall within the list described by the article.
Which actions are covered
The first part lists the actions prohibited in the outer restricted zone. These are: being present in the zone and/or bringing a vehicle into it (except when performing official duty); bringing an item or substance into the institution bypassing the procedure established by Georgian legislation, and/or transferring it to a person held in the institution; bringing in or using pyrotechnic products, fireworks, poisonous, highly flammable or other items or substances; inciting or calling for violation of legally established requirements, disturbance or disobedience from the zone or its adjacent territory; and providing information in an unlawful form.
A note to the article explains what counts as a prohibited item or substance for the purposes of this norm: it is an item or substance that is not included in the annex to the regulations of the penitentiary institution listing the food products, items, substances and documents the acquisition, storage, carrying, use or enjoyment of which is prohibited to an accused or convicted person. The regime is therefore connected with the institution's internal rules as well, and the prohibition of a concrete item must be sought in that list.
What sanction is established
An act covered by the first part entails a fine of 500 GEL. Commission of the same act repeatedly entails a fine of 1,000 GEL. If the imposed fine is not paid within the period determined by the Code, the violator is charged a surcharge equal to the amount of the fine; and if the fine and the surcharge remain unpaid within 30 days from the imposition of the surcharge, measures to secure payment of the fine and the surcharge are carried out.
How an authorised officer of the penitentiary service acts
A note to the article also regulates the practical side of stopping the violation. Where the violator does not comply with a lawful demand of an authorised officer of the Special Penitentiary Service, or where the violator cannot be identified, the authorised officer may call the police in order to stop or detect the violation, and the police are obliged to arrive at the scene immediately and to carry out the actions provided for by the Code and other legislation. Disobedience is also deemed to include the violator's failure to present an identity document or other identification data to the authorised officer, and/or failure to comply with a verbal instruction given to stop or detect the violation.
How we can help
The lawyers of legal.ge assist at every stage of a case under Article 177¹³: we assess whether your act falls within the list of actions described by the article, verify the case materials and the lawfulness of the protocol, defend you before the reviewing authority and prepare an appeal. Contact us for a consultation at any stage of the case.
What must be assessed for qualification
Several questions become decisive in establishing whether Article 177¹³ applies. First, whether the charged act was directed at a person held in the penitentiary institution — the norm requires precisely this direction. Second, whether the act gives rise to criminal liability, in which case the matter passes to an entirely different legal regime. Third, whether the act took place precisely in the outer restricted zone, and fourth, whether it was the performance of official duty, which the article expressly excludes with respect to bringing a vehicle into the zone.
It also matters whether the offence is a first or a repeated commission, since the sanction rises from 500 GEL to 1,000 GEL. Whether the repetition is properly established must be examined against the case file: if that circumstance is described incorrectly in the protocol, the amount of the fine will be wrong as well. The questions of the surcharge and of measures to secure payment are governed by time limits fixed in the Code and must be observed by the violator too.
Finally, note that disobedience to an authorised officer's demand is a separate circumstance: it does not increase the fine, but it triggers the involvement of the police and further documentation of the situation. In a tense situation near a penitentiary institution, consulting a lawyer is a better course than escalating the conflict.