Homicide Victim Representation — Who the Client Is and What the Law Promises
In a homicide case the victim can no longer join the proceedings — the role passes to close relatives and heirs, and this page is written for them. It explains what it means for the persons holding the victim's procedural position to be represented by an advocate under the Georgian Law on Advocacy Activity — within the bounds of Articles 2, 4 and 6. This statute does not regulate the victim's procedural powers in criminal proceedings — those are established by criminal procedure legislation; the advocacy statute answers the question of who, and how, protects these persons' interests throughout the process.
The Basis of Representation — the Bounds of Advocacy Activity
Under Article 2, advocacy activity includes giving legal advice to the person who has approached for assistance — that is, to the heir or relative who becomes involved in the case; representing the client in a criminal case before the court and the investigation bodies; preparing legal documents addressed to third parties and submitting documentation in the client's name. Under subparagraph "a" of the first part of Article 4, the advocate represents and defends the client before constitutional, supreme and common courts, arbitration and investigation bodies. One representative thus accompanies the heirs through every stage of the process — beginning with the investigation and ending with the supreme court.
Access to Documents and Control over the Case File
A homicide case is documentarily heavy: expert examinations, protocols, video recordings, conclusions. Under subparagraph "b" of the first part of Article 4, for the purpose of protecting the client's interests, the advocate demands and receives, in the manner prescribed by legislation, the necessary documents, certificates and factual data. For the heir this is decisive: access to the real state of the case opens precisely through this right, and the advocate sees what the prosecution holds and where the contested places lie. The advocate's activity may be restricted only by law — the guarantee of the second part of the article — meaning that no participant in the process can determine how the advocate defends the heir's interests.
The practical weight of this framework is especially visible in a homicide case. Because of its duration, the case often passes through more than one instance; the prosecution adjusts its position and witnesses adjust their assessments. In such dynamics it matters that the family be served by one and the same representative who has known the file from the beginning: every detail — from the expert conclusions to the procedural deadlines — stays in one pair of hands, and no stage passes unmonitored.