Article 39 of the Administrative Offences Code of Georgia establishes the period after the expiry of which a person is deemed not to have been subjected to an administrative penalty. This institution is of great practical importance, because many norms attach stricter sanctions to repeated commission: a person who is still deemed to have been penalised faces aggravated consequences for a new breach. On this page we explain in detail when and how the one-year period begins to run, what difference exists between a fine and other penalties, and why the full payment of a fine is decisive for a separate category of cases.
The general rule — one year from the serving of the penalty
Under the first part of the article, if a person subjected to an administrative penalty has not committed a new administrative offence within 1 year from the day of the serving of that penalty, the person is deemed not to have been penalised, except where the penalty imposed was a fine. This means that for non-monetary penalties the period runs from the moment the penalty is actually served — that is, enforced. It is essential that the person must actually have been released from the penalty: while the penalty has not been served, the period does not begin to run at all.
The case of a fine — one year from the day of imposition
The second part of the article regulates the case of a fine separately: where an administrative penalty is imposed in the form of a fine, the person is deemed not to have been penalised if, within 1 year from the day of the imposition of the fine, the person does not commit a new administrative offence, except in the case provided for by the third part of this article. The starting point for a fine is therefore different: not the serving of the penalty but the imposition of the fine. This distinction has a practical consequence: non-payment of the fine neither suspends nor extends the period — the period runs from the day of imposition.