What Article 55¹ covers
Article 55¹ of the Georgian Administrative Offences Code penalises one specific act: the construction of facilities that have a negative impact on the condition of the land. The sanction attaches to construction — the process of putting the facility up — not to operating it afterwards. And the centre of the offence is a negative impact on the condition of the land itself: not on the environment in general, not on a neighbour's comfort, and not on the appearance of the area.
What the article leaves out matters just as much: it does not list which facilities count as having a negative impact on land, does not define how severe that impact must be, and makes no mention at all of permits. So a case under this article usually turns on two questions: whether a negative impact on the condition of the land has been established, and who carried out the construction.
Timing matters too. The article speaks of construction, so the relevant window is the period during which the works were being carried out. If the plot was inspected long after the works finished, it is a separate question whether the condition described is connected to that construction rather than to something else on the same land — neighbouring activity, natural processes, or a previous user's work. That question does not raise itself: it has to be put, and supported, in writing.
The sanction the article provides
Article 55¹ carries a single sanction: construction of facilities that have a negative impact on the condition of the land results in a fine of 1,000 to 2,000 lari. It provides for nothing further — no warning, no suspension of activity, no demolition, and no confiscation of property.
- lower limit of the fine — 1,000 lari;
- upper limit of the fine — 2,000 lari;
- the article gives no basis for choosing a particular figure between those limits;
- the article does not deal separately with repeat commission.
Because the penalty is a range rather than a fixed amount, two independent questions arise in every case: whether the offence was committed at all and, if it was, where between 1,000 and 2,000 lari the fine should fall. They should be argued separately: an argument about the amount survives even where the position on liability is weak.
The fine does not fall away by itself because the facility was taken down, the works were halted, or the plot was put back in order: Article 55¹ contains no such ground. They are still worth putting in the file with documents behind them, because the sanction is a range and the amount stays open even where the conduct is no longer in dispute.
How a case starts and proceeds
Proceedings begin with a protocol drawn up after a site visit or an inspection. The protocol records which facility was built, where it stands, and in what the negative impact on the condition of the land is said to consist. The case is then examined by the authorised body, which issues a decision. It is the decision that imposes the fine, not the protocol.
Article 55¹ itself names no authority, does not describe what the decision has to contain, and sets no period for appeal; those matters are governed by other parts of the Code. Whom to approach, and within what period, is therefore printed on the documents you already hold. Read that part the day it reaches you, record the date of service in writing, and keep the envelope.
Where the case is actually fought
Cases under this article are rarely decided on legal interpretation; they move almost immediately to the facts and the strength of the evidence. It is worth working through the following questions in order.
- Has a negative impact on the condition of the land been established, and by what — measurements, an inspection record, an expert opinion, or only the wording of the protocol?
- Was the activity construction at all, or was it repair or maintenance of an existing facility?
- Are you the person who carried out the construction, or on whose instruction it proceeded?
- Does the protocol correctly identify the plot, the facility and the period?
- Does the impact described relate to the period when the construction was taking place?
Representation does not change the framework the article sets, and nobody can promise an outcome. What changes is what stands in the file: the evidence of impact tested rather than accepted, defects in the protocol recorded, an alternative opinion and supporting documents filed in time, and the decision appealed where the case justifies it.
What to bring
With a sanction running from 1,000 to 2,000 lari, the quality of the documents feeds directly into the result. Try to have the following at the first meeting.
- copies of the protocol and of the decision, with all dates visible;
- an extract confirming your rights over the plot, and its cadastral data;
- construction documentation for the facility, drawings, and the works schedule;
- contracts with any contractor, together with acceptance records;
- photographs from before and after the works, and any measurement or opinion on the condition of the soil.
Time is evidence as well. Soil and plot conditions change, and what a photograph or measurement captures today may be impossible to reconstruct months from now. If you disagree with the impact described in the protocol, record the current state of the plot as early as you can and in dated form — that material cannot be created later.