---
title: "Arson Defense"
url: "https://legal.ge/en/service/crim-criminal-law-en/arson-defense-en"
field: "Criminal Law"
description: "Arson damage to property (Article 187): parts of the punishment, intent or negligence, defence directions. Legal.ge."
reviewed: "2026-07-09"
updated: "2026-10-29"
publisher: "legal.ge"
---

# Arson Defense

> Source: legal.ge, https://legal.ge/en/service/crim-criminal-law-en/arson-defense-en

## Damage or Destruction of a Thing: the Basic Composition

Article 187 of the Criminal Code regulates the damage or destruction of another's thing. The basic composition is completed where the act caused significant damage — it is this feature that separates the crime from an ordinary civil dispute. An act charged under the first part is punished by a fine, community service for a term of one hundred to one hundred and eighty hours, corrective labour for a term of up to one year, home arrest for a term of six months to two years, or imprisonment for a term of one to five years. Each punishment is a separate alternative, and their frameworks are defined in the norm itself.

The feature of significant damage is the central prop of the prosecution: it requires independent assessment, and the failure to establish it undermines the whole charge. For the defence it is precisely this gate that gives the case its realistic opportunity — if the damage is not significant, no crime exists under this article at all.

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### Under which part is arson punished?

Under part two — arson, explosion or another publicly dangerous means is an aggravating feature and means imprisonment from three to six years.

### What happens if the damage is not significant?

Then no crime is formed under this article — significant damage is an obligatory feature of the basic composition.

### Is deliberate fire different from unwitting fire?

Yes — a deliberately committed act engages criminal liability under this norm, while an unwitting act is not covered by it.

### What threatens where death is caused through negligence?

The third and fourth parts: imprisonment from six to ten years, and where two or more persons died — from nine to twelve years.