Article 159: What This Law Protects and Who This Page Is For
Article 159 of the Criminal Code of Georgia protects the secrecy of your private communications. The text of the article covers private correspondence and postal shipments, recordings of conversations held by telephone or other technical means, and messages received or transmitted by telegraph, computer system, fax or other technical means. If you or a family member has been notified of a case opened under this article, this page explains what the norm itself actually says: which acts are criminal, what punishment each part carries, and which situations are expressly exempted. Everything here is grounded in the text of this article alone; questions it does not regulate are governed by other provisions of the Code.
In practice, cases under this article often concern opening, copying or spreading email correspondence, chat messages, or recordings of telephone conversations. That is why the first question a defense lawyer asks is precise qualification: which part of the article the charge relies on. The punishments differ significantly from part to part, and the defense strategy is built on exactly that difference.
What Conduct Is Criminal Under the First Part
The first part of the article criminalizes four forms of unlawful dealing with protected information, listed directly in the statutory text:
- unlawful obtaining of private correspondence or a postal shipment;
- unlawful opening of it;
- becoming acquainted with its content;
- unlawful storing of it.
The same part covers a recording of a conversation held by telephone or another technical means, and a message received or transmitted by telegraph, computer system, fax or other technical means. Pay close attention to one decisive element: the article prescribes punishment only for acts committed unlawfully. This element is stated directly in the text, and for the defense it is the central question — if access to the information occurred under a legal basis or permitted procedure, the elements of the offence under this article are not made out.
The Second Part: Use, Dissemination and Otherwise Making Available
The second part of the article addresses situations where protected information is not merely obtained or stored, but is subsequently used. Under the text, it is a crime to unlawfully use, disseminate, or otherwise make available private correspondence, a postal shipment, a recording of a telephone or other technical conversation, or a message received or transmitted by telegraph, computer system or fax. The difference from the first part is clear: the first part punishes access to the information, the second punishes what is done with it afterwards. The punishment for this part is stricter, and it is listed separately in the sanctions section below.
Aggravated Forms: The Third and Fourth Parts
The article distinguishes two aggravated forms. Under the third part, an act provided for by the first or second part is punished when committed with either of two features named directly in the text:
- for mercenary motives;
- more than once.
The fourth part prescribes an even higher punishment for the same acts when committed in one of two compositions: when the act caused significant damage, or when it was committed using an official position. In connection with the latter feature the article also provides an additional punishment — deprivation of the right to hold a position or carry out an activity for up to three years. A defense lawyer examines each of these features separately: the existence of mercenary motives, repetition, the significance of the damage, and the actual role of the official position are exactly the points where an accusation is often built on conjecture.
Punishments Under Each Part, Separately
The text of the article states the punishment for each part separately, and this list must never be compressed into a single span. Part by part, the sanctions are:
- first part — a fine, or corrective labor for up to two years, or imprisonment for up to three years;
- second part — imprisonment for a term from two to five years;
- third part — imprisonment for a term from three to six years;
- fourth part — imprisonment for a term from three to seven years, with deprivation of the right to hold a position or carry out an activity for up to three years.
As the list shows, the first part is the only one where a fine and corrective labor stand as separate alternatives; the remaining parts rest on imprisonment, and the second part does not include a fine at all. This is precisely why it matters which part the accusation is formulated under.
Exemption Notes and the Liability of Legal Entities
The notes to the article contain two important rules. Under the first note, a person who has transferred to investigative bodies information obtained or stored under the first part, and who has thereby provided information about another committed or expected criminal act, is not subject to criminal liability for the offence provided for by the first part. The second note states that a legal entity is punished for an act provided for by this article by a fine, deprivation of the right to carry out an activity, or liquidation together with a fine. These two rules are often overlooked, yet they create a real defense foundation in certain cases.
How a Defense Lawyer Works on an Article 159 Case
Defense under this article begins with an exact examination of the qualification of the charge. If the charge is brought under the first part, the unlawfulness of the access is examined; under the second part, the fact of use or dissemination; under the third or fourth part, the features of mercenary motives, more-than-once commission, significant damage or use of an official position. The exemption under the first note is checked separately. The rules of investigation and trial, deadlines and other procedural questions are not determined by this article — they are governed by other provisions, so the procedural prospects of your specific case require consultation with a lawyer.
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