Group Crime and Why Its Classification Matters
Criminal charges often rest on the group form of an offence, because a person's role and the character of their participation in a joint crime directly determine the scope of the accusation and the likely sentence. The general part of the Criminal Code of Georgia regulates this field through a complete system of norms: it defines perpetration, the elements of complicity, the types of accomplice, the rules for distributing liability, perpetrator excess, and the forms of group crime. For the defense these norms are the decisive instrument: on the same facts one person may be treated as a perpetrator and another merely as an abettor, and that difference is reflected in both the charge and the punishment.
The Perpetrator and Co-Perpetration
Under the relevant norm of the Code, a perpetrator is the person who directly committed the crime or directly participated in its commission together with another person, a co-perpetrator. The same norm also treats as a perpetrator the person who committed the crime through another person who, due to age, insanity or other circumstances, cannot bear criminal liability under the Code. Whoever uses a non-responsible person as a directed instrument is himself deemed a perpetrator. The defense must establish precisely who physically carried out the act, since perpetration is the gravest form of participation.
The Concept of Complicity and the Types of Accomplice
Complicity means the deliberate joint participation of two or more persons in the commission of an intentional crime. It requires the intent of the participants and the concerted character of their actions, which the prosecution must prove. The Code enumerates the types of accomplice precisely: an organizer is the person who arranged the commission of the crime or directed its execution, as well as the person who created an organized group or led it. An instigator is the person who persuaded another person to commit an intentional crime. An abettor is the person who facilitated the commission of the crime. Each type requires its own factual basis in law, so an incorrect designation of the role undermines the whole charge.