Article 157 – Infringement of Information on Private Life or Personal Data
Article 157 of the Criminal Code of Georgia protects the inviolability of a person's private life. Under this article the unlawful obtaining, storage, use, dissemination or other making available of information on private life or of personal data, having caused significant damage, is punished. In the digital age, where information spreads easily, the norm is applied in practice in many situations – from private correspondence to intimate material distributed on social networks.
The article unites two distinct objects: information reflecting private life and personal data. The forms of the act are also diverse – obtaining, storage, use, dissemination and other making available of information. The offence is thus not limited to stealing information: its subsequent use and dissemination are listed as separate forms.
What the Prosecution Must Prove – the Elements
The prosecution must establish three circumstances. First – the fact of the act: that the person obtained, stored, used, disseminated or made the information available. Second – unlawfulness: the act was not based on a ground provided by law. Third – the result: the act caused significant damage. Without significant damage the qualification under the first two parts does not exist – this is the central question for the defense.
The second part separately treats dissemination through a work, the internet – including social networks – mass broadcasting or another public statement: dissemination by such means carries a heavier penalty, because the information reaches a wide audience.
Sanctions – Every Part of the Article Separately
Article 157 provides for the following penalties, each part standing on its own:
- part 1 – unlawful obtaining, storage, use, dissemination or other making available of information on private life or personal data, having caused significant damage – a fine, or corrective labor for a term of up to two years, or imprisonment for a term of up to three years;
- part 2 – unlawful use and/or dissemination of the same information or data through a work, the internet, including a social network, mass broadcasting or another public statement, having caused significant damage – a fine, or corrective labor for a term of up to two years, or imprisonment for a term of up to four years;
- part 3 – an act provided for by part 1 or 2, committed for mercenary reasons or more than once – a fine, or imprisonment for a term of up to five years;
- part 4 – an act provided for by parts 1, 2 or 3, committed by a person who, by virtue of official position, professional activity or another circumstance, was obliged to protect that information or those data, or committed by using an official position – imprisonment for a term of four to seven years, with deprivation of the right to hold an office or conduct activity for a term of up to three years or without it.
Under the note to the article, a legal person is punished for these acts by a fine, deprivation of the right to conduct activity, or liquidation and a fine. The rules on individualization of punishment are defined by other norms of the Code.
Aggravating Forms and Determining Circumstances
Part 3 names two aggravating circumstances: commission for mercenary reasons – that is, with the aim of receiving material or other benefit – and commission more than once. Part 4 particularly aggravates liability for the person who was precisely obliged to protect that information by virtue of official or professional activity – for instance, because he had access to the data within the scope of his office.
The status of such a special subject is a separate question of proof: the prosecution must establish that the person was obliged to protect the information and that it was precisely this position that gave him access. If that is not established, the part 4 qualification collapses and the case returns to a lighter part.
The Note – the Possibility of Release from Liability
The first note to the article contains an important instrument for the defense: for the crime provided for by part 1 – the forms of obtaining and storage – liability is not imposed on a person who handed the obtained or stored information over to the investigative bodies and thereby provided information about a committed or expected other criminal act. This release applies only to the obtaining and storage forms of part 1 – not to dissemination.
Practical Aspects of the Defense and the Lawyer's Role
In Article 157 cases the central questions are: whether the information genuinely reflected private life or constituted personal data; whether the act was unlawful; and whether it caused significant damage. Each of these must be confirmed by evidence, and it is precisely there that the defense's opportunities unfold – the assessment of the significance of damage depends on concrete facts.
The lawyers of Legal.ge work on privacy-infringement cases and will help you assess the qualification, the damage and the aggravating circumstances precisely, as well as whether the release described in the note applies to your case.