Extradition Hearing Representation — the Anchors of Georgian Law
In an extradition case the advocate's work unfolds in two layers: the procedural layer of international cooperation, regulated by criminal procedure legislation whose details lie outside this page, and the substantive layer of the Criminal Code — the norms that determine whether surrender is possible and what its alternatives are. This page serves that second layer: Article 6 — the citizenship bar and the treaty requirement; Article 47-2 — expulsion and entry ban as the sanction often actually imposed; and Article 380-1 — obstruction of the execution of an expulsion decision. These three norms form the legal map on which the hearing position is built.
Article 6 — Who May Not Be Extradited
The first part of Article 6 establishes a categorical bar: a citizen of Georgia and a stateless person with status in Georgia may not be extradited to another state for criminal prosecution or for serving a sentence, unless an international treaty of Georgia provides otherwise. Under the second part, a citizen of a foreign state and a stateless person who are on the territory of Georgia may be extradited to another state or surrendered to the International Criminal Court in accordance with an international treaty of Georgia. The third part adds further exclusions: a person granted asylum who is persecuted for political beliefs may not be surrendered to another state, nor may one whose act is not considered a crime under Georgian legislation, nor where the requesting state prescribes the death penalty for the offence. This list is the alphabet of the hearing position.
In practice, three checks precede the hearing. First — the subject's status: citizenship or a foreign order is fixed documentarily in every case, because exactly this determines whether the bar of the first part of Article 6 operates or the treaty route opens. Second — the existence and content of a treaty: where no treaty exists, the question of surrender does not arise at all. Third — the exclusion points: asylum, dual criminality and the death-penalty circumstance, which the law makes grounds for refusing the request.
Article 47-2 — Expulsion as the Real Alternative
In extradition cases the real risk is often expulsion. The first part of Article 47-2 defines it: the expulsion of a foreigner from Georgia and a ban on entry into Georgia mean securing the foreigner's departure from Georgia against his will and imposing on him a ban on entry for a defined period; a foreigner is a person who is not a citizen of Georgia. The second part regulates the terms: for a less grave crime this penalty may be imposed for a term of 2 to 10 years, and for a grave or especially grave crime — for a term of 5 to 20 years or indefinitely. For the hearing position this means that avoiding surrender does not end with expulsion — the agenda includes the simultaneous assessment of both institutions.
Article 380-1 — the Risk of Obstructing Execution
The third norm concerns the client's own conduct directly: Article 380-1 regulates a person's obstruction of the execution of a decision on expulsion, expressed in the deliberate destruction of a travel document, or — where the document is absent — in evading the procedure needed to obtain it, or otherwise evading execution. For this, the law provides expulsion and an entry ban for a term of 5 to 20 years or indefinitely, or deprivation of liberty. The task of consultation lies precisely here: the client must know that destroying documents and evading procedures builds a new, independent offence on his own conduct and does not improve but aggravates his position.
What This Page Does Not Regulate — the Boundaries of Frameworks
It is honest to set the boundaries too: the surrender-hearing procedure is governed by criminal procedure legislation and is not reproduced on this page. Likewise foreign frameworks — the European arrest-warrant system and the practice of American extradition treaties — are non-Georgian institutions and do not directly extend to a Georgian hearing: in Georgia the gate is the barriers of Article 6 and the treaty requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we answer the most frequent questions in extradition cases.
May a Georgian citizen be extradited?
No — a citizen of Georgia and a stateless person with status are not extradited unless an international treaty provides otherwise.
When may a foreigner be surrendered?
In accordance with an international treaty; but not a person granted asylum persecuted for political beliefs, one whose act is not a crime under Georgian law, or where the requesting state prescribes the death penalty.
For what terms is expulsion imposed?
For a less grave crime — 2 to 10 years; for a grave or especially grave crime — 5 to 20 years or indefinitely.
What is obstruction of expulsion?
Deliberate destruction of a travel document, evasion of the procedure for obtaining it or other evasion of execution — a separate offence under Article 380-1.
How We Help on Legal.ge
On Legal.ge you can contact an experienced criminal-law advocate who analyses an extradition case from the barriers of Article 6: verifies the citizenship and treaty grounds, assesses the risk of expulsion and helps prepare the position before the hearing. Fill in the request form on the site and get a qualified consultation on Legal.ge.