Representation in Compulsory-Treatment Cases
The Georgian title of this page is a garbled machine translation flagged for editorial correction; the actual subject is medico-legal defence — the analysis of the institutions that concern a person suffering from drug addiction when the court appoints compulsory treatment. A guiding boundary is noted: the proper regime of substitution therapy (methadone or buprenorphine programmes) lives in the law on narcological assistance and health-ministry acts and lies outside this page; the Criminal Code regulates precisely the coercive medical intervention against which defence is needed — its grounds, nature, duration and discontinuation.
Grounds and Nature — Articles 79-1 and 79-2
The Code names two grounds: the person suffering from drug addiction committed a crime under the drug chapter; or, after committing such a crime and before a guilty verdict, the person was diagnosed with dependence on a specially controlled substance. The nature is dual: compulsory treatment is appointed together with the sentence, on the basis of a conclusion of the commission of physician-narcologists, for a term of not more than two years; it may be appointed upon full release from the sentence or conditional credit of the sentence, and upon conditional early release its continuation is possible. The law defines the purposes precisely as well: prevention of a new crime or unlawful act, protection of public order and the population, and the cure of the person — and adds directly: the purpose is not the physical torment of the person or the degradation of his dignity. The aims of compulsory treatment are the prevention of a new crime or unlawful act, the protection of public order and of the population, and the cure of the person. It may be appointed upon full release from the sentence or upon its conditional credit, and upon release on parole its continuation remains possible.
Execution and Discontinuation — Article 79-5
The contour of execution stands on three rules. First: compulsory medical treatment is carried out in accordance with the principles established by the law on narcological assistance, and its execution begins only where a guilty court verdict has entered into legal force for the person; the procedure of execution is determined by a government decree. Second: the treatment may be discontinued by the administration of the executing facility on the basis of a conclusion of the commission of physician-narcologists; the person appointed to treatment is examined by the commission every three months from the moment of commencement, to establish whether a ground for discontinuation exists. Third: the administration is obliged to discontinue the treatment where the nature and gravity of the illness have so changed that the measure is no longer necessary. For the defence this means: the commission's conclusions — both at appointment and at each three-month review — are the documentary base on which the necessity of the coercive measure is placed in doubt.
The Commission Conclusions and the Person's Rights
In a compulsory-treatment case the conclusions of the commission of physician-narcologists are the central documentary base, and the person's rights stand precisely around them: a conclusion must rest on a real diagnosis of the illness and not on the fact of the crime as such; every three-month review is a new assessment whose result becomes the subject of a contestable decision; and a change in the nature of the illness entails the necessity of discontinuation. The person's position has three lines: the correctness of the diagnosis, the necessity of the measure and its proportionality — the law itself names the purposes of treatment and does not count torment and degradation among them, so that disproportionate application is already a question of legality. Documenting these three lines — from an independent examination to the commission's protocols — is the work that decides the outcome. Execution begins when a court verdict of guilt has entered into legal force with respect to the person.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we answer the most common questions about compulsory treatment.
For what term is compulsory treatment appointed?
Together with the sentence, on the commission's conclusion — for not more than two years.
When does execution begin?
Only after the guilty verdict enters into legal force; the procedure is set by government decree.
Can the treatment be discontinued?
Yes — by the facility administration on the commission's conclusion; the person is reviewed every three months, and discontinuation is mandatory where the illness no longer requires the measure.
What is the purpose?
Prevention of new crime, protection of public order and cure — torment and degradation are not purposes.
When does the execution of compulsory treatment begin?
When a court verdict of guilt has entered into legal force with respect to the person; the procedure of execution is determined by a government decree.
How We Help on Legal.ge
A compulsory-treatment case requires precise analysis of the grounds, the commission's conclusions and the discontinuation rules. On Legal.ge you can consult an experienced criminal advocate who will protect the person's rights at every stage of this institution. Fill in the request form on the site and receive qualified assistance.