What Article 144⁴ provides
Article 144⁴ of the Administrative Offences Code of Georgia concerns breaches of the rules on installing and operating radio-electronic means and high-frequency devices. The text describes a specific situation: installing and operating, at places of residence, means and devices that do not conform to the technical operation norms established for them and are harmful to the health of the population.
Three elements — the place, the type of equipment, and the conduct — are read together. The provision speaks of places of residence and not of premises generally; of radio-electronic means and high-frequency devices and not of equipment at large; and of installation and operation. If a report has been drawn up against you under this article, checking those elements is where the work starts.
The fine is fixed at 5,000 lari
Article 144⁴ provides for a fine in the amount of 5,000 lari. This is the provision's defining practical feature, and grasping it changes how a case under it is approached.
- the sum is stated in the article directly in lari, rather than as a multiple of the minimum amount of labour remuneration;
- it is not a range — the article sets no lower and no upper limit, but names a single fixed amount;
- as a result, an argument aimed simply at "reducing the fine" finds no footing in the text of this article.
What that means is that the real subject of the dispute is not the money but whether the offence described in the article is made out at all. If it is, the amount is already settled by law; if it is not, there is nothing to discuss about the amount. This is precisely why establishing the facts and the technical data accurately is decisive here.
The practical consequence is that the whole weight of the case shifts onto the inspection and measurement material. Where the sum is fixed by law there is nothing left to negotiate, and what matters is only what was recorded, how it was recorded, and how completely that is reflected in the file. Obtaining and reading those documents promptly is therefore the single most valuable early step.
Two conditions joined by "and"
The text describes the equipment by reference to two characteristics, and it joins them with "and": the equipment does not conform to the technical operation norms established for it, and it is harmful to the health of the population.
That formulation deserves a careful reading, because it determines what the case has to establish. The article does not confine itself to a departure from the norms, nor to harmfulness to health alone — the text names both. When liability is being considered, it is therefore natural to ask which norm the departure is recorded against, and by what material the second characteristic is shown.
Who this article reaches in practice
The locational element — a place of residence — ties this provision to everyday situations. It can cover equipment installed inside a flat or a private house, devices placed on the roof or facade of a residential building, or industrial-grade equipment kept in a domestic setting.
Cases of this kind often begin with a neighbour's complaint or an inspection, and several possible respondents appear in them at once: the person who installed the equipment, the person who operates it, and the person who owns the space. Those three roles do not always coincide, and the article does not allocate responsibility between them for you, so the factual position needs to be documented rather than assumed.
One textual detail is also worth noting. The heading of the article speaks generally of breaches of the rules on installing and operating radio-electronic means and high-frequency devices, while the operative text ties liability to places of residence. Where the equipment actually sits is therefore something to pin down precisely rather than take for granted.
What a lawyer does with a case like this
Nobody can promise you that the penalty will be set aside. What a representative does is reduce the dispute to the questions the article rests on, and prepare evidence on each of them.
- whether the particular equipment falls within the concept of a radio-electronic means or a high-frequency device;
- whether the location where it stands is a place of residence for the purposes of the article;
- which established technical operation norm the non-conformity is recorded against, and how it was measured;
- what material is relied on to show the second characteristic, harmfulness to the health of the population;
- who carried out the installation and who carried out the operation.
Article 144⁴ itself identifies neither the body that hears the case, nor an appeal period, nor what a decision must contain. Those matters are governed by other provisions of the Code, so the applicable period has to be confirmed from the document served on you, and confirmed without delay.
What to bring to a consultation
Preparing the paperwork in advance makes a first meeting considerably more productive. It helps to bring the following.
- The report or decision in full, with annexes and the date it was served.
- Any inspection or measurement record, with all the technical readings it contains.
- The equipment's data sheet, manual and technical specifications.
- Documents showing rights over the premises and who performed the installation.
- Neighbour complaints or other material, where the case refers to them.