A decision in a restitution and compensation case does not always end the dispute: a party may disagree either with the substance of the decision or with the way it was reached. The law provides a clear appeal mechanism for this — with different routes and different deadlines depending on whose act is challenged and on what ground. This page explains in detail which decision is appealed where, within which deadlines, what happens to the execution of the decision during the appeal, how the eviction of a bad-faith possessor can be deferred, and which guarantees constrain the members of the Commission when they examine an appealed case.
Which decision is appealed where
The appeal route depends on whose act is challenged and on your ground. Where the procedures established by the law have been violated, a decision of the Commission may be appealed to the Supreme Court of Georgia, while on the basis of newly discovered and newly revealed circumstances — to the Commission itself. Decisions of the Commission's committee may be appealed to the Commission on all grounds: for substantive reconsideration, for violation of the procedures established by the law, or in connection with newly discovered and newly revealed circumstances. Proceedings before the Commission begin with an application of the injured person, his or her heir or representative, and the committee decides on accepting the application into proceedings — or refusing to do so — within 3 months. Any person concerned may thus choose the correct forum, but the choice must be made consciously, because sending the complaint down the wrong track costs time.
The appeal deadlines
The deadlines differ according to the ground, and mixing them up is the most common technical mistake:
- the deadline for appealing a decision of the Commission's committee is 1 month from the entry of the decision into force — during this period the execution of the decision is suspended;
- in connection with newly discovered and newly revealed circumstances, an application for appeal of the decision may be submitted within 90 days from learning of the circumstances;
- in case of violation of the procedures established by the law, the appeal deadline is 3 months from the day the decision was adopted.
The Commission may refuse to accept the appealed application into proceedings in defined cases: the application is manifestly unfounded; on appeal of the Commission's decision there exist no newly discovered and newly revealed circumstances or no fact of violation of the procedures; the appeal deadline has expired; a court decision concerning the disputed property already exists. Each of these grounds is foreseeable in advance, and when a refusal is built on them, the correctness of your own application becomes decisive.
Execution of the decision during the appeal and deferral of eviction
On appeal, the execution of a decision is, as a rule, not suspended — however, the Commission has the right, at the request of one of the parties, to suspend its execution. At the same time, during the 1-month window for appealing a committee decision, execution is precisely that — suspended: the deadline and the suspension are established together and must be understood together. A special rule concerns the bad-faith possessor: taking the circumstances into account, the Commission has the right to adopt a decision on deferral of the eviction of the bad-faith possessor. For decisions that have entered into legal force, the Commission and its committee issue an enforcement sheet, and a decision enters into force from the moment of its public announcement at the session. In practical terms, a party facing eviction should track both timelines at once: the fate of the appeal and the execution of the decision on the ground.
How the appealed case is examined
On an appealed decision, the Commission adopts a decision according to the procedure established for the examination of the case. An important guarantee is that a member of the committee of the Commission who adopted the appealed decision has no right to take part in the work of the Commission at that time — the case is effectively heard by a fresh composition. The competence of the sessions is also precisely defined: a session of the Commission is competent if attended by no fewer than 6 members of the Commission, and on an appealed decision — by no fewer than 5 members; a session of the committee is competent if attended by no fewer than 2 members of the committee. A decision is adopted by a majority of the votes of the members present, and in case of an equal split the chair's vote is decisive. The Commission and its committee adopt and publish final decisions no later than 6 months from the acceptance of the application into proceedings, and in exceptional circumstances, where the facts stated in the application require investigation potentially connected with complex administrative procedures, this deadline must not exceed 9 months. The possible outcomes are defined: full satisfaction of the application, partial satisfaction, or refusal — and the decision must always be reasoned.
Independence guarantees and conflict of interest
The Commission, its members and staff are impartial and independent of any political or financial interest in the exercise of their powers, and obey only the Constitution and the legislation of Georgia. Influence on their activity or interference in it is inadmissible, and a decision obtained as a result of such influence or interference is void. The conflict-of-interest rules are equally strict: a member of the Commission cannot be a person who performs paid work (except pedagogical, scientific or creative activity), is a member of a political party, or directly participated in the armed conflict. If a member or a staff member of the Commission's bureau is found to have a direct or indirect economic interest in relation to the person whose case the Commission is examining, he or she is obliged to declare this in writing and to refrain from taking part in the examination of the case and in the adoption of the decision. The same obligation applies to kinship with a party or to prior involvement with the disputed property during the conflict.
Practical steps when appealing
Before deciding to appeal, prepare yourself through the following steps:
- establish whose act is challenged — a decision of the Commission or of its committee: the appeal forum follows from this;
- determine the ground — violation of the procedure, or newly discovered and newly revealed circumstances: the deadline follows from this;
- re-verify the deadline by the established rules: for a committee decision — 1 month from entry into force; for new circumstances — 90 days from learning of them; for violation of the procedure — 3 months from the day of adoption;
- set out the facts chronologically and indicate where exactly the procedure was violated or what the new circumstance is;
- if eviction is a real threat, keep in mind the Commission's right — taking the circumstances into account — to adopt a decision deferring the eviction of the bad-faith possessor;
- if execution of the decision is painful for you, use the possibility of a party's request to suspend execution.