Threat as a Crime — the Content of Article 151
A threat is recognized in the Criminal Code of Georgia as a separate crime, because creating fear about the inviolability of life, health or property is harmful in itself and punishable by the state. At the same time, this is one of those compositions whose existence requires the simultaneous establishment of two conditions: the fact of the threat and the well-founded fear of its realization on the part of the threatened person. The precise analysis of precisely these conditions decides the outcome of the case, which is why engaging a lawyer from the very first stage of such a charge is essential.
The Two Essential Elements of the Offense
The first part of the article defines the crime as a threat to kill, to damage health, or to destroy property, where the threatened person has developed a well-founded fear that the threat will be realized. The first element — the content of the threat — is formulated precisely by the law: what is meant is a threat to kill, to damage health, or to destroy property; promises of an undesirable character of other kinds do not fall within this norm. The second element — well-founded fear — belongs to the subjective side, but its existence must be established through the case materials: both the victim's statements and the context of the conduct, the form of the threat, the real possibility of its realization and other circumstances are used. These circumstances must be assessed together: the same words uttered in different situations deserve entirely different legal assessments. For example, what sounds against the background of an ongoing heated conflict accompanied by gestures is perceived differently from the same words put in writing and addressed to a person whom the author has a real possibility of harming. It is precisely because of these nuances that every detail of the case — time, place, form of communication, the history of the parties — is a separate subject of analysis.