The types of submission made by the chief of the probation bureau
The Georgian law on the enforcement of non-custodial penalties and probation defines precisely with which type of submission the chief of a probation bureau applies to the court in the cases provided for by law. The list is exhaustive — the bureau chief does not enter court with any other type of submission:
- on replacing the community service penalty imposed on the convicted person with another type of penalty;
- on replacing the corrective labour penalty imposed on the convicted person with another type of penalty;
- on the full or partial revocation of a duty imposed by the court on a conditionally convicted person, or on the imposition of a new duty on that person;
- on the revocation of the conditional sentence and the lifting of the convicted person's conviction;
- on the extension of the probation period by not more than one year because of an administrative penalty imposed on the conditionally convicted person;
- on the revocation of the conditional sentence and the enforcement of the penalty appointed by the verdict;
- on the revocation of the conditional early release and the enforcement of the unserved part of the sentence;
- on the revocation of the deferral of the serving of the sentence and the sending of the convicted person to serve the sentence at the place appointed by the verdict;
- on replacing the penalty of deprivation of the right to carry on an activity imposed on a legal entity with another type of penalty.
As the list shows, a submission may concern both a request to replace a penalty with another type and the raising of questions connected with conditional decisions. If you are a convicted person, it is precisely this list by which the law limits the matters on which the chief of the probation bureau may apply to the court.
How a submission is filed and within what period it is decided
Submissions connected with a conditional sentence, conditional early release and the deferral of the serving of a sentence must be filed with the court before the expiry of the corresponding probation period, unserved part of the sentence, or deferral period. Once these periods have run out, raising this type of question before the court becomes substantively impossible, so timing here is decisive.
A submission is filed with the court according to the convicted person's place of residence or, in the case of a legal entity, its legal address. The court issues its decision on satisfying the submission or refusing to satisfy it within one month of the filing of the submission.
Appealing a probation officer's action
A convicted person has the right to appeal in court against an action of a probation officer that is connected with the enforcement of the legal acts provided for by this law. The route of appeal is defined in exactly this way: not before an administrative body and not before an internal service instance, but directly before the court.
Unlike the rules on submissions, this norm does not set a separate period or form for the appeal — the time limit and procedure for the appeal are governed by other legislation. If a specific action of an officer seems questionable to you, the applicable appeal deadlines therefore need to be checked precisely, and a lawyer's consultation will save you time at this point.
The legal status of a probation officer
When exercising official powers, a probation officer is a representative of the authorities, and compliance with the officer's lawful demand is mandatory. This statutory rule carries an important consequence for the convicted person: disobedience to a lawful demand is treated as non-fulfilment of the duty imposed on the convicted person, and the court assesses it accordingly. At the same time, the officer's actions are subject to appeal — the convicted person has judicial protection against a disputed action.
The officer's social and legal protection guarantees
A probation officer has the right to receive remuneration — a salary — from the day of entry into service until the day of dismissal; the officer's pay, working time and rest time are determined according to the procedure established by Georgian legislation. The officer is granted annual leave of 30 calendar days. At the state's expense the officer is provided with official clothing of the prescribed design, which bears insignia reflecting a special state rank.
The officer has the right to keep and carry the special means of self-defence defined by Georgian legislation; the list of such means and the rules for their storage, carrying and use are approved by the Minister of Justice, taking into account the legislation in force. If the officer dies in the performance of official duty, the officer's family receives a one-time compensation from the state budget equal to 10 years' salary; if the officer is wounded or crippled in the performance of official duty, the compensation — according to the severity of the injury to the body — ranges from 1 to 5 years' salary. The officer is also entitled to a pension for length of service under the procedure established by legislation; the social and legal protection guarantees of the service's other employees are likewise determined by legislation.
Control over the fulfilment of duties and the consequences of non-fulfilment
In the process of enforcing acts on a conditional sentence, conditional early release and the deferral of the serving of a sentence, when probation measures are applied, the probation officer:
- controls the fulfilment of the duties imposed on the convicted person by the court;
- monitors the convicted person's conduct and gives that person assistance;
- carries out measures of an educational nature with the convicted person;
- helps the person find employment as far as possible;
- carries out other measures that promote the re-socialisation of the convicted person, establishing, where necessary, working relations with local self-government and governance bodies, other state and non-state bodies, institutions and organisations.
The officer reports every fact of non-fulfilment of a duty imposed on the convicted person to the court that adopted the enforceable legal act or, in other cases, to the court of the convicted person's place of residence. Non-fulfilment is understood as the convicted person's disobedience to the officer's lawful demand or refusal to perform the imposed duty. It is systematic where the duty has remained unfulfilled not less than three times — and this already gives rise to a ground for an application to the court by way of the appropriate submission.