---
title: "Perjury Defense"
url: "https://legal.ge/en/service/crim-criminal-law-en/perjury-defense-142-en"
field: "Criminal Law"
description: "Article 370 Criminal Code of Georgia — false testimony: 4 up to 8 years imprisonment. Defense lawyer — Legal.ge."
reviewed: "2026-07-09"
updated: "2026-10-14"
publisher: "legal.ge"
---

# Perjury Defense

> Source: legal.ge, https://legal.ge/en/service/crim-criminal-law-en/perjury-defense-142-en

## What the Article on False Testimony Covers

Article 370 of the Criminal Code of Georgia protects the administration of justice from false information. Its first part covers obstruction of justice expressed in: the provision of false information or the giving of false testimony by a person to be interrogated, a witness or a victim; the giving of a false conclusion or testimony by an expert; the deliberate or negligent failure of an expert to safeguard the object of expert research; and/or the deliberate incorrect translation by an interpreter — during the investigation or in court.

This article unites the acts of several different subjects — a witness, a victim, an expert, an interpreter — and the central question of every case is always one: whether the information stated was false and whether the person knew it. In practice, such a charge often arises against the backdrop of contradictions between a witness’s successive testimonies, which is why the case rests on a detailed analysis of the evidence.

The full text is available on legal.ge after signing in: https://legal.ge/en/service/crim-criminal-law-en/perjury-defense-142-en

### What is the penalty for false testimony?

Under the basic composition — imprisonment of up to four years; for remuneration or a personal motive — from two to six years; in a case of a grave or especially grave crime — from three to seven years; committed more than once — from four to eight years.

### Whom does this article concern?

A person to be interrogated, a witness, a victim, an expert and an interpreter — during the investigation or in court.

### Is a mistake false testimony?

No — false testimony must be given deliberately, by a person who knew the information was groundless. Flaws of memory and errors of perception do not mean perjury.

### What does failure to safeguard the expert object mean?

Damage or destruction of the subject of research by the expert — the law separately treats deliberate and negligent failure to safeguard.

### When should I hire a lawyer?

Immediately, as soon as talk begins of repeated testimony or perjury — every subsequent explanation aggravates the case.