Mass Tort Litigation in Georgian Law
When a single event injures many people, international practice answers this with institutions of collective litigation. Clarity is needed here: Georgian law has no class action, that is, no mechanism for representing an unknown multitude of victims through one suit. The procedural regulation of group claims remains a separate matter decided by other legislation. What the Civil Code does give in this field is a single consolidating instrument, solidarity of liability: in a multi-victim scenario each victim builds an individual claim, but the allocation of liability among the debtors follows the rule of solidarity. It is precisely the deliberate use of this construction that distinguishes a strong mass strategy from a scattering of separate suits.
Solidarity as the Only Aggregation Device
Under Article 998 of the Civil Code, where several persons participate in the occurrence of the damage, they answer as solidary debtors. This means that the victim may address a claim for the full amount against any one participant, and the internal allocation among the participants is then settled in their own relationships. In a dispute resting on multiple wrongdoers this is a significant advantage for victims: full compensation may be demanded even from the single most financially stable participant.
The second part of the same article widens the circle of liability: damage is answerable for not only by the person who directly caused it, but also by the person who instigated it or facilitated it, as well as the person who consciously profited from damage inflicted on another. In mass scenarios this is critical: the object of investigation is not only the immediate actor but the whole chain that supported the damage or profited from it.
The General Fault Frame
The basis of the tort claim is Article 992 of the Civil Code: a person who, by an unlawful, intentional or negligent act, causes damage to another person, is obliged to compensate that damage. In mass litigation this frame is fixed separately for each victim: it must be established who acted, to what extent the act was unlawful, intentional or negligent, and what link exists between that act and the specific damage. The more victims there are, the more important is the centralised planning of evidence: common documentation reinforces each individual claim simultaneously.
Individualised Damage and Non-Pecuniary Compensation
Despite the mass character of the event, damage is determined individually for each victim. Under Article 414 of the Civil Code, in determining the amount of damage the interest of the creditor in due performance is taken into account, and the time and place of performance must be considered to establish the amount. In mass suits this translates into concrete practical work: each participant's losses, income level and personal circumstances are recorded separately.
The regime of non-pecuniary damage is also defined. Under Article 413 of the Civil Code, monetary compensation for non-pecuniary damage may be demanded only in cases precisely defined by law, in the form of reasonable and fair compensation; in cases of bodily injury or damage to health, the victim may demand compensation for non-pecuniary damage as well. In mass physical harm this norm gives each victim a basis for a non-pecuniary claim, but each claim requires its own substantiation.
In mass disputes the time factor is decisive. Under Article 1008 of the Civil Code, the limitation period for the right to demand compensation for damage caused by a tort is three years from the moment the victim learned of the damage or of the person obliged to compensate it. This rule is individual: each victim has their own period, which may begin at different times if they learned of the damage at different times. The strategic conclusion: when planning claims, a limitation calendar must be kept separately for each participant, because the expiry of one victim's period does not extinguish the others' claims but weakens the group's common position.
Strategic Planning Around Solidarity
The absence of a class action means that a strategy necessarily built on individual claims must be methodically planned: a common evidentiary core, a unified database of victims, centralised substantiation of fault and causation, and the establishment of the full list of solidary debtors. Such an approach turns individual suits into a single blow: each claim stands on its own basis, but all rest on the same substantiated factual base.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a class action exist in Georgia?
No. Georgian law has no mechanism for representing an unknown multitude of victims through one suit. Each victim brings a separate claim, while liability on the debtors' side is solidary where several persons participated in the occurrence of the damage.
Who may be answerable for damage?
Not only the person who directly caused it, but also the person who instigated or facilitated it, as well as the person who consciously profited from damage inflicted on another.
How is damage assessed with many victims?
The victim's interest in due performance and the time and place of performance are taken into account. Non-pecuniary compensation is claimable for bodily injury or damage to health, in the form of reasonable and fair compensation.
What is the limitation period for a claim?
Three years from the moment the victim learned of the damage or of the person obliged to compensate it.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Our team approaches multi-victim disputes strategically: we establish the full circle of solidarily liable persons, build the common evidentiary core, individualise the damage for each victim and keep a limitation calendar for each claim separately. Contact our specialists so that protection from mass harm proceeds through an organised and legally complete strategy.