Scope of the Law
Legislation on normative answers one of the most common practical questions: which rule applies to your specific situation, and from what moment does a new rule become binding on you. The corresponding law of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia defines the types of normative acts of that republic, their hierarchy, and the general rules for the preparation, adoption (issuance), publication, operation, registration and systematisation of those acts. Whether a particular norm is in force, when it entered into force and whether it can extend to relationships that have already ended is assessed precisely on the basis of these rules.
Two procedural points deserve attention. First: unless the law provides otherwise, the types of administrative proceedings provided for by the General Administrative Code of Georgia do not apply to the preparation and adoption (issuance) of normative acts of the Autonomous Republic. Second: the rules of preparation, adoption (issuance), publication and operation are determined simultaneously by the Organic Law of Georgia on Normative Acts, the Constitution of the Autonomous Republic, this law and the corresponding normative acts adopted (issued) on their basis — so when assessing a concrete question you will also verify these acts.
The Concept of a Legal Act and the Hierarchy of Normative Acts
A legal act is an act adopted (issued) by an authorised organ (official) of the Autonomous Republic, in the manner established by legislation, and binding for execution. The normative acts of the Autonomous Republic fall into two groups — legislative acts and sub-legislative (subordinate to law) acts — which together constitute the legislation of the Autonomous Republic. The types of legislative acts and their mutual relations are determined as follows:
- The legislative acts are the Constitution of the Autonomous Republic and its constitutional law, as well as a law of the Autonomous Republic and the rules of procedure of its Supreme Council;
- A hierarchy operates among them: at the highest level stand the Constitution and constitutional law, and below them the law and the rules of procedure of the Supreme Council;
- Legislative acts have superior legal force in relation to sub-legislative normative acts;
- Where normative acts of equal legal force conflict, preference is given to the act adopted (issued) later.
A sub-legislative normative act may be adopted (issued), unless the law provides otherwise, only within the competence of the organ (official) adopting (issuing) it, only for the implementation of a legislative act, and only where this is directly provided for by a legislative act. Such an act must indicate on the basis of which legislative act and for its implementation it has been adopted (issued). In addition, no normative act may contradict a decision adopted as a result of a referendum.
Analogy in Normative Acts and the Computation of Time Limits
It often turns out that the law does not directly regulate your relationship. The following rule then applies: to regulate a private-law relationship not directly provided for by law, the norm of law regulating the most similar relationship is applied — analogy of the law (analogia legis). Where applying the analogy of the law is impossible, the private-law relationship must be regulated on the basis of the legal system as a whole and its general principles — this is called analogy of law. In public-law relationships, by contrast, analogy of the law applies only in cases directly provided for by law and in the established manner. The most important restriction: special (exceptional) norms may never be applied by analogy — this prohibition admits no exception.
When computing time limits, be guided by the following: weekends and rest days established by Georgian legislation are not counted when computing the time limits indicated in the law — except the time limit established for a normative act to enter into force. Where the matter concerns the legal expertise or the publication of a normative act (or its draft), the time limit starts to run on the next working day after the act (draft) is transferred to the authorised organ or after the legal conclusion is issued. This nuance frequently decides whether a deadline has been breached, because the gap between the day of transfer of documents and the start of the count is substantial.
Entry into Force and the Rules of Publication
A normative act whose entry into force is linked to publication enters into force only after it has been officially published in the manner determined by the Organic Law of Georgia on Normative Acts and by this law. An unpublished act for which publication is required does not start to operate — the mere adoption of an act does not yet mean that it has become binding on you.
The publication procedure differs according to the type of act. Laws adopted by the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic are published according to the procedure determined by the Constitution of the Autonomous Republic, the Organic Law of Georgia on Normative Acts and this law. The remaining normative acts of the Autonomous Republic must be transmitted to the Legislative Herald of Georgia and must be published within 10 days of their adoption or issuance.
Refusal to Publish
A submitted act may be refused publication. The law clearly names the cases in which publication must be refused:
- the normative act submitted for publication (apart from the exceptions provided for by law) is not accompanied by a positive conclusion issued by the Ministry of Justice and Civic Integration;
- the content of the normative act submitted for publication does not correspond to the content of its draft on which the Ministry issued a positive conclusion;
- the act submitted for publication after the expiry of the time limit established by law is not accompanied by a renewed positive conclusion of the Ministry;
- the normative act has been submitted for publication in violation of the submission requirements established by law.
Because entry into force is linked to official publication, a refusal to publish in fact blocks the act from taking effect — an unpublished act does not start to operate. Therefore, if you doubt whether a rule has entered into force, first verify whether it has been officially published.
Retroactivity and the Annulment of a Normative Act
The rule on retroactive force is strict: a normative act has retroactive force only where this is directly established by that act itself. A normative act that establishes or aggravates liability has no retroactive force whatsoever — this prohibition contains no exceptions. Accordingly, a new and stricter rule does not extend to actions committed before the act took effect.
A normative act or a part of it loses force where: the period for which it was adopted (issued) has expired; a normative act has been adopted (issued) that declares it void; or the authorised organ (official) has adopted a decision which, under the legislation of Georgia and of the Autonomous Republic, entails the loss of its legal force.
The consequences of annulment also matter. No normative act may be used to declare void a normative act of superior legal force. The annulment of the act by which an older act was annulled does not by itself revive the older act, unless that act itself provides otherwise. Every normative act (or its relevant part) adopted on the basis of, or for the implementation of, the act declared void must likewise be declared void, and such acts have no legal force regardless of whether they have been individually declared void. When a legislative act is adopted, every sub-legislative normative act (or part of one) regulating the corresponding social relationship must be declared void. In addition, the Government of the Autonomous Republic is entitled to suspend or annul a minister's normative act on the ground of its illegality or inexpediency.
Registration of Older Acts and the Entry into Force of the Law
A transitional rule concerns older sub-legislative acts: a sub-legislative normative act adopted (issued) before 1 January 2005, regardless of its title, which is not registered in the State Register of the Autonomous Republic has no legal force. The exception concerns acts containing an individual (one-time) provision — such an act retains legal force and is treated as an administrative-legal act to the extent of that provision.
The law itself entered into force immediately upon publication, save for the provisions connected with publication, which entered into force on 1 January 2011. This means that the requirements linked to the publication procedure apply precisely from that date.