Product Liability Law in Tbilisi, Georgia

Product Liability Law

Can I claim damage from the manufacturer if I have no contract with it?

Yes. The manufacturer of a defective product is answerable for the damage caused by it, regardless of whether it stood in a contractual relationship with the victim.

When is the manufacturer released from liability?

Release is possible, for example, where the product was not put into circulation, where the defect was not present when it was put into circulation, where it was not produced for a commercial or professional purpose, where the defect corresponded to the then-current norms, or where discovery of the defect was impossible at the then-existing level of science and technology.

When is a product defective?

A product is defective if it does not provide the safety which, taking all circumstances into account, was to be expected of it. The mere appearance of a better product does not make it defective.

How does my own fault affect compensation?

Where the victim's conduct also contributed to the damage, the obligation and its extent depend on whose fault predominantly caused it. Fault may also consist in inaction.

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.

5 min·9 Jan 2026

Product Liability Law: The Manufacturer's Tort Liability

Compensation for damage caused by a defective product is regulated in the Civil Code of Georgia by a separate chapter, and this regulation establishes the manufacturer's liability independently of any contractual relationship. The core of this chapter is the following rule: the manufacturer of a defective product is answerable for the damage caused by this product, regardless of whether it stood in a contractual relationship with the victim. This means that a consumer who bought the item from an intermediary in the trade chain may claim liability from the manufacturer. At the same time, a dispute with the retailer may also be brought by the contractual route, and this page deals precisely with tort claims directed against the manufacturer.

Grounds for the Manufacturer's Exoneration

The law precisely lists the cases where the manufacturer is released from liability. Release is possible where: the manufacturer has not put the product into circulation; the circumstances of the case allow the assumption that the defect which caused the damage was not present in the product when it was put into circulation; the manufacturer did not produce the product either for sale or other commercial purpose, nor within the framework of its professional activity; the product has a defect which corresponded to the norms in force at the time it was put into circulation; or it was impossible to discover the defect given the level of science and technology existing at the time the product was put into circulation.

Additional rules exist as well: the liability of the manufacturer of a component part is excluded where the defect is caused by the construction of the product into which this part became a component. On the other hand, the manufacturer's liability is not reduced where the damage is caused by a defect of the product and at the same time by the act of a third person. And the manufacturer's obligation to compensate is reduced or excluded where the occurrence of the damage was caused by the faulty conduct of the victim or of the person responsible in the victim's stead.