Official crimes and corruption — what the corresponding group of the Code covers
Official crimes form a separate group in the Criminal Code of Georgia: these norms protect the normal functioning of state service and local self-government. This page examines the principal compositions of this group: exceeding official authority, the forcing of an explanation, testimony or conclusion, unlawful participation in entrepreneurial activity, the taking and giving of bribes, the acceptance of a legally prohibited gift, and official forgery. Each of them carries its own precisely defined punishment.
An official charge is always serious: it concerns a person's service record, reputation and often the question of retaining office. If such a charge concerns your family or organization, it is important to know exactly what each norm provides and where the possibilities of the defence lie.
Exceeding official authority
The exceeding of official authority by an official or an equalized person, which has caused a substantial violation of the right of a physical or legal person, of society or of the lawful interest of the state, is punishable by a fine or by house arrest for a term of six months to two years or by imprisonment for a term of up to three years, with deprivation of the right to hold office or to carry out an activity for a term of up to three years. The same act by a person holding a state-political position is punishable by a fine or by imprisonment for a term of three to five years, with the same deprivation. And where the act is committed more than once, with violence or with the use of a weapon, or with the humiliation of the personal dignity of the victim, the offender is punishable by imprisonment for a term of five to eight years, with deprivation for up to three years.
Taking a bribe — the centre of the corruption crimes
The law defines the taking of a bribe as the receipt or demand by an official or an equalized person, directly or indirectly, of money, securities, other property, property benefit or any other unlawful advantage, as well as the acceptance of an offer or a promise thereof, for the benefit of himself or herself or another person, in order that, in the performance of official rights and duties, he or she carry out some act for the benefit of the giver of the bribe or another person, or refrain from carrying out some act, or use official authority for a similar purpose, as well as to exercise official patronage. This act is punishable by imprisonment for a term of six to nine years.
The taking of a bribe by a person holding a state-political position, in a large amount, or by a group with prior agreement is punishable by imprisonment for a term of seven to eleven years. And an act provided for by these parts, committed by a person convicted of bribery, more than once, with extortion, by an organized group, or in an especially large amount, is punishable by imprisonment for a term of eleven to fifteen years.
The note to the law precisely defines the amounts: a bribe in a large amount is a sum above ten thousand lari in the form of money, securities, other property or property benefit, and a bribe in an especially large amount is a sum above thirty thousand lari.