What Article 312¹ governs
Article 312¹ of the Code of Administrative Offences of Georgia defines the procedure for conducting an administrative case where the identity of the offender is not established — the person refuses self-identification or to give explanations, or identification is impossible because of physical impairment or other objective circumstances. The norm allows the case not to freeze: the proceedings continue without hindrance and in full, accompanied by additional guarantees — including the mandatory participation of an advocate.
In practice this article operates most often in road traffic and public order cases, where a person presents no documents and does not reveal his identity.
How the record of an unidentified person is drawn up
Where the person's identity (name, surname, age, sex, citizenship) is not established, the official conducting the case draws up, with the participation of an appropriate specialist, a record describing all the external features of the offender — presumed age, sex, height, hair colour, eye colour and other peculiarities of appearance — by which identification may be possible. A corresponding photograph is attached to the record. Moreover, on the basis of a motion of the conducting official, by a decision of the authorised authority, the unidentified person may be given a conditional name — a combination of digits and/or letters enabling his identification in the further proceedings. The conditional name may not be humiliating or insulting to a person's honour and dignity.
Additional guarantees and examination
After the record is drawn up the proceedings continue with the mandatory participation of an advocate — an important guarantee, since a person who cannot defend himself is assigned a representative by law. In addition, by an order of the district (city) court at the place of the proceedings, depending on the concrete circumstances, a complex medical-psychiatric examination may be appointed, which must, among other questions, establish the person's mental state, blood group and carry out dactyloscopic registration.
Temporary seizure and its fate
As a measure of special character, to secure payment of the fine, the instrument of the offence, the object, the goods or the means of transportation may be temporarily seized and stored for up to 3 months. Within that period, upon identification of the person, the case continues under the general rule. Where the person does not pay the fine within 3 months, the seized goods are confiscated or realised to the extent sufficient for the amount of the fine, and the remaining goods are returned to the owner.
The consequence of establishing identity
Where the person's identity is established at any stage of the proceedings, the authority is obliged, within 72 hours, to bring the summarising decisions of the case into conformity with that circumstance and to review them — except where that would cause a turn for the worse. Identification thus returns the case to a personally qualified track. Note, however: after the 3-month period expires, the establishment of identity is no longer a ground for demanding the return of confiscated or realised goods or compensation of their value.
How we can help
The lawyers of legal.ge assist both in a case conducted against an unidentified person (the advocate's participation is mandatory there, and his timely involvement is decisive) and after identity is established — the 72-hour period is an important window for action. For a consultation, bring all the existing documents of the case.
What this means for a person in practice
Proceedings against an unidentified person may seem a rare situation, but in practice it is a real and frequent mechanism. Its first consequence is that the case does not stop in time: the 3-month storage and realisation mechanism works, and the amount of the fine is secured by the goods. The second consequence is that after identity is established the case becomes personal, but the 72-hour period limits how quickly the review must happen.
The person's position in such cases is twofold. On the one hand, defence by concealing identity brings no temporary victory: the proceedings continue anyway. On the other hand, the mandatory participation of an advocate and the restrictions on the conditional name are the guarantees on which the defence builds its position. The right tactic lies precisely in using those guarantees.
Our team offers full representation in this category of cases — from checking the composition of the record to the appeal.