What Article 66⁵ actually covers
Article 66⁵ of the Administrative Offences Code of Georgia addresses one narrowly drawn situation: failure to comply with the requirements laid down by a decision of the Government of Georgia for removing plant species protected by Georgia's Red List from the natural environment. The wording repays close reading. The article does not declare an absolute ban on taking a protected plant from the wild. It assumes the opposite — that a lawful route exists, that a Government decision sets out the requirements governing that route, and that the offence consists precisely in not meeting those requirements. Every case built on this article therefore reduces to two questions: which specific requirement was treated as unmet, and whether that requirement was owed by you. Where the case file does not answer both clearly, that gap is where a defence begins.
The penalty the article provides
Article 66⁵ provides for a fine of GEL 500. That is a fixed figure. The text contains no "from — to" band, so the kind of argument available under articles that set a range — asking for the lower end — simply does not arise here. The same text provides no other sanction: no confiscation of the plant or of equipment, no suspension of an activity, and no separate, higher fine for a repeat offence. What follows from that is practical. A dispute under this article is rarely about the size of the penalty and almost always about whether the conduct described in the article occurred at all and whether it has been correctly classified. The article stands in its current form by virtue of Law of Georgia No. 3668 of 15 November 2023.
How a case like this unfolds
An administrative offence case begins with a protocol, drawn up by an authorised officer either on the spot or afterwards on the basis of inspection materials. The description recorded in that protocol defines what you are defending against, which is why a generic description — one that merely repeats that "the requirements established by the Government's decision were breached" without saying which — is itself a weakness in the case against you. In practice the following points carry the weight:
- which species is involved, and whether its presence on the Red List is actually established;
- which specific requirement of the Government decision was treated as unmet;
- who owed that requirement — the person doing the removal, the person who commissioned it, or the person responsible for the site;
- the date, the place, and how the fact was recorded;
- whether your explanation and objections were entered into the protocol.
What you can do
Start by reading the paperwork properly. Article 66⁵ itself says nothing about an appeal route, the body an appeal goes to, or any time limit — it provides the failure to comply and the GEL 500 fine, and stops there; those procedural questions are governed by other provisions of the Code. So check your own copy of the protocol and the decision on the first day, and where they do not answer those questions, have them settled against the applicable provisions rather than left to assumption. Paying and appealing are separate questions and should not be conflated. The explanation you sign on the spot stays in the file permanently, so do not write it in haste and do not accept a formulation you do not fully agree with. If you dispute the facts, say so in writing. If you decline to sign, record the reason. Photographs, video, location data and witness contact details degrade quickly — capture and store them immediately, while the scene and your memory are still fresh.
Where a lawyer changes the outcome
Because the fine is fixed, a lawyer's work here is not directed at reducing it, and anyone who promises a reduction has not read the article. The real room lies in classification and in evidence: whether what you did falls within Article 66⁵ at all, whether the requirement you are said to have breached existed in the terms alleged, and whether it was owed by you personally rather than by another party involved. Cases frequently turn on identification of the plant, on establishing the exact location, and on who actually carried out the act. A lawyer will also frame the appeal so that it engages with the material already in the file rather than offering a general protest. No outcome can be promised, but a precisely stated position directly affects the quality of the review your case receives.
What to bring to a consultation
A consultation is faster and far more concrete when the documents are in front of the lawyer. Bring the following:
- a complete copy of the offence protocol and of the decision, every page;
- any permit, contract or correspondence relating to the basis for the removal;
- dated photographs of the site and of the plant;
- names and contact details of witnesses;
- a short chronology of events in your own words.