About this service
The chapter on crimes against military service is one of the most extensive special parts of the Georgian Criminal Code: it unites violations of the rules of relations inside military service, evasion of service, and breaches of duty-service rules. The statutory concept sets the frame: an act provided for by this chapter, directed against the order of military service, committed by a servicemember or by a reservist during reserve military service, is considered a crime against military service; in time of war or martial law, liability for such crimes is determined by the legislation of Georgia. Our advocates analyse these cases in full — from the exact qualification of the composition to the individualisation of the sentence. This page surveys those compositions of the chapter that do not have dedicated separate pages, while the flagship conducts — disobedience to an order, abandonment of a unit or service place, and desertion — are covered by their own services.
Compositions connected with superiors
The protection of military hierarchy rests on three norms. Resistance by violence or the threat of violence against a superior or against a person performing the duties of military service, or coercing such a person to breach that duty, is punished by restriction of service for up to two years or by imprisonment for a term of two to five years; the same act committed by a group, with the use of a weapon, or causing less-severe or severe injury to health or another grave consequence, is punished by imprisonment for a term of four to eight years. The beating of a superior or other violence against him during or in connection with the performance of military-service duty is punished by restriction of service for up to two years or imprisonment for two to four years, and with the same aggravating features — by four to eight years.
The third norm concerns violation of the rules of relations between servicemembers not subordinate to one another: where the violation was accompanied by humiliation of the victim's honour or dignity or by coercion, it is punished by imprisonment for up to three years; committed by a group, against two or more persons, repeatedly, with the use of a weapon, or causing less-severe injury to health — by two to five years; and where the act caused a grave consequence — by four to nine years. The practical importance of these compositions lies in the fact that one and the same conflict receives different qualifications depending on between whom it occurred and with what consequence it ended.
Evasion of service by deception
A separate composition covers evasion of military service by simulating illness, self-injury of the body, use of a false document or other deception — for this the law provides restriction of service for up to two years or imprisonment for up to one year. The defence here is often built on rebutting the factual element of simulation: analysis of the medical documentation, of the rules of summons and of the timetable in many cases confirms that the servicemember had no intent to evade service at all, and that inaccuracy in documents is an error of a different nature.
Duty, border and guard service
Violation of the combat-watch rules established to ensure timely detection and repulsion of a sudden attack on Georgia, which caused or could have caused harm to the interest of state security, is punished by restriction of service for up to two years or imprisonment for two to five years; where a grave consequence was caused — by four to ten years; and where the violation was committed through negligence or bad faith and caused a grave consequence — by restriction of service for up to two years or imprisonment for up to three years. Violation of the rules of performing border service by a person serving in a border detachment is punished by restriction of service for up to two years or imprisonment for up to three years; with a grave consequence — by two to five years; through negligence or bad faith with a grave consequence — by restriction of service for up to two years or imprisonment for up to two years.
Violation of the rules of guard service or of protection service forming part of the daily routine, which caused damage to a guard post, a watch or a protected object, is punished by restriction of service for up to two years or imprisonment for up to two years; where a grave consequence was caused — by imprisonment for up to three years; and where committed through negligence or bad faith with a grave consequence — by imprisonment for up to one year. In this group one of the main lines of defence is establishing the form of guilt: deliberate commission, negligence and bad faith carry entirely different sanctions, and confusing them artificially aggravates the punishment.
How we help on Legal.ge
Our team begins the defence in military-crime cases with a deep analysis of the qualification: we determine which composition corresponds to the facts, assess the form of guilt and the causal link to the consequence, prepare motions and follow the case through every instance. If a charge has been brought under any composition of the chapter on crimes against military service, contact us — at the first consultation you will receive a realistic assessment and a concrete action plan. Legal.ge — reliable legal support across Georgia.