The Criminal Framework for Construction-Sector Violations in Georgia
Construction in Georgia is regulated principally by the urban-planning and construction legislation, but two categories of conduct cross into the Criminal Code, and a defence in them must be built on the Code's own terms. The first is Article 360-1, which governs non-compliance with an order suspending construction works. The second is Article 240, which establishes liability for breach of safety rules in the conduct of mining, construction or other works. If you or your company faces an allegedly ignored stop-construction order, or a workplace injury on a site, the precise composition of these two articles defines your exposure and defence plan.
Non-Compliance With a Construction-Suspension Order — Article 360-1
Article 360-1 makes it a crime to fail to comply with an order on the suspension of construction, where the act is committed by a person who is administratively liable for such conduct. The sanction is severe: a fine or imprisonment for a term of up to three years. Two further rules in the notes to the article are decisive. First, for the acts envisaged by this article a legal person is punishable by a fine, deprivation of the right to carry out activity, or liquidation and a fine. Second, investigation of this crime begins only after the possibility of appealing the construction-suspension order has been exhausted and the conformity of that order with Georgian legislation has been confirmed. In other words, the lawfulness of the order and the exhaustion of remedies against it are preconditions of the prosecution — a separate defence stage, because demonstrating illegality can stop the case from reaching the criminal phase at all.
Breach of Safety Rules During Works — Article 240
Article 240 addresses the breach of safety rules in the conduct of mining, construction or other works, and is divided by consequence. Under the first part, where the breach caused less severe or grave damage to health, the punishment is a fine, corrective labour for a term of up to two years, or imprisonment for a term of up to two years, with deprivation of the right to hold an official position or carry out activity for a term of up to three years or without it. Under the second part, where the same act caused the death of a person or another grave result, the punishment is house arrest for a term of six months to two years or imprisonment for a term of two to five years, again with deprivation of the right to hold a position or carry out activity for up to three years or without it. The severity of the consequence and its causal connection to the specific breached rule are the points on which these cases are most often fought — the boundary between the two parts of the article is the boundary of the sentence.
Legal Persons and the Precondition for Investigation
As noted, the note to Article 360-1 also makes a legal person subject to sanction — a fine, deprivation of the right to carry out activity, or liquidation and a fine. In construction-suspension episodes the precondition for opening the investigation is equally critical: the case moves into the criminal phase only after the possibility of appealing the order has been exhausted and the order's conformity with Georgian legislation has been confirmed. This is not a formality but a real defence instrument. In Article 240 cases, by contrast, the central questions are causal: which specific rule was breached, whether the injury is the result of that breach, and who bore responsibility for compliance with the rule. The answers determine which part of the article applies and within which sanction frame any negotiation with the prosecution will take place.
Directions for the Defence
In Article 360-1 cases the defence proceeds on two levels: contesting the lawfulness of the suspension order and delimiting the circle of persons who are administratively liable for the conduct. In Article 240 cases the analysis focuses on causation — the identification of the concrete rule, the causal link between the breach and the harm, and the allocation of responsibility for compliance. Documentation of the site regime and the timing of the order must be assembled before the charge takes its final shape.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the punishment for continuing construction despite a suspension order?
Under Article 360-1 — a fine or imprisonment for up to three years, where the act was committed by a person administratively liable for it. A legal person faces a fine, deprivation of the right to carry out activity, or liquidation and a fine.
When does the investigation start under this article?
Only after the possibility of appealing the suspension order has been exhausted and the order's conformity with Georgian legislation has been confirmed, as the note to the article provides.
What sanction follows a safety breach on site causing injury?
For less severe or grave injury — a fine, corrective labour up to two years or imprisonment up to two years, with deprivation of the right to hold a position or carry out activity up to three years or without it; for death or another grave result — house arrest from six months to two years or imprisonment from two to five years.
Who answers for the safety rules — the company or the individual?
Article 240 targets the person responsible for compliance with the rule; organisational sanctions operate separately where the facts of the case support them.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Criminal cases in the construction sector demand simultaneous management of the regulatory and the criminal contour. On Legal.ge you can engage a criminal defence lawyer who will assess the lawfulness of the order, build the defence on the causation questions and protect your interests at every instance. Submit a request on the site and get qualified assistance.