The Criminal Framework for Violating Personal Secrets
Interference with information reflecting a person's private life, or with personal data, is criminalised in Georgia by a dedicated provision — Article 157 of the Criminal Code — and the norm covers the whole chain from obtaining to dissemination: the unlawful obtaining, storing, use, dissemination or other making available of such information or data stands under criminal liability where it caused significant damage. A boundary should be noted as well: the catalogue of data-subject rights known from general data-protection regulation belongs to separate legislation and is not the subject of this page; what is explained here is the criminal boundary — the point at which interference, upon the occurrence of damage, turns into a crime.
The Basic and Aggravated Compositions
The first part of the article establishes the basic composition: the acts above, having caused significant damage, are punished by a fine or corrective labour for a term of up to two years, or imprisonment for a term of up to three years. The second part regulates the public-dissemination form separately: the unlawful use or dissemination of such information or data through a published work, the internet — including social networks — mass broadcasting or another public appearance, having caused significant damage, is punished by a fine or corrective labour for up to two years or imprisonment for up to four years — public exposure thus increases the sanction. The third part adds two aggravating circumstances — mercenary motives and repetition: the act is then punished by a fine or imprisonment for up to five years. The fourth part addresses a special subject: the act committed by a person who, by virtue of official position, professional activity or other circumstances, was obliged to protect that information or data, or who committed the act using an official position, is punished by imprisonment for a term of four to seven years, with deprivation of the right to hold office or carry on activity for up to three years or without it — the professional gatekeeper faces the harshest band.
The Exception, the Legal Person and the Defence Strategy
The law contains one significant exception: for the crime under the first part — obtaining and storing — liability does not attach to a person who transferred the obtained or stored information to the investigative organs and thereby supplied information about another committed or expected criminal act. The article also provides that a legal person is punished for these acts by a fine, deprivation of the right to carry on activity, or liquidation and a fine — for a company this means that an employee's act may be followed by an organisational sanction against the company itself. In defence practice the dispute usually concentrates on three points: whether the act was unlawful; whether the element of significant damage stands; and whether the person held the protector status. The significance of damage is an evaluative category, and it is precisely there that the defence prevails which treats the existence and scale of the damage as a documentary question rather than a rhetorical one.
Assembling the Position on Both Sides
From the accused's side, the case is built along three lines. The first is the line of lawfulness: where the information was obtained or used from a lawful source — a public register, open data, or a personal communication the victim himself consented to share — the element of unlawliness collapses at its foundation. The second is the line of damage: significant damage must be established as fact and not as supposition; its absence breaks the composition. The third is the line of the subject: the protector status under the fourth part requires special substantiation — whether the person really held a position that imposed the duty of protection. From the victim's side the process opens symmetrically: each link — unlawliness, damage and their causal connection — must be preserved in documents: what the information was, how it reached only a restricted circle, how it spread, and what the damage amounted to. In public-dissemination episodes the additional trace — the fact of publication, the audience, onward sharing — reflects on the scale of the sanction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we answer the most common questions about the disclosure of personal secrets.
What penalty is provided for the basic composition?
A fine or corrective labour for up to two years or imprisonment for up to three years; for public dissemination — up to four years, for mercenary motives or repetition — up to five years, by a protector — four to seven years.
What counts as public dissemination?
Use or dissemination through a published work, the internet — including social networks — mass broadcasting or another public appearance.
Who is exempt from liability?
For obtaining and storing — a person who transferred the information to the investigative organs and thereby supplied information about another committed or expected crime.
Is a legal person liable?
Yes — by a fine, deprivation of the right to carry on activity, or liquidation and a fine.
How We Help on Legal.ge
A personal-secrets case — for the defence or for the victim — requires precise analysis of unlawfulness, damage and the subject's status. On Legal.ge you can consult an experienced advocate in criminal law and data protection who will assess your situation and protect your interests at every stage. Fill in the request form on the site and receive qualified assistance.