License Denial: What Appeal Means
The rejection of an application for an activity license is a decision regulated by law, and Article 12 of the Law of Georgia on Licenses and Permits gives the applicant the right to appeal it: the decision of the licensing authority to refuse the issuance of an activity license may be appealed to a superior administrative body (official) or to a court. These two routes are alternative, and the applicant decides which one is useful for his situation.
The substance of the appeal lies in the re-examination of the grounds of the refusal: in the applicant's position, the denial was not based on grounds established by law, or the assessment of the application failed to take into account the submitted documents and circumstances. A correctly formulated claim determines the success of the dispute.
Administrative Appeal to a Superior Body
In choosing the route of appeal the applicant should be oriented toward the real result: administrative review gives the applicant the opportunity to present the position directly to the body and to supply additional documentation — which in many cases means that the case is considered within a shorter time. The administrative route does not, however, exclude the court: the law names both routes separately, and the applicant decides which instance to address.
The administrative route means applying to the administrative body or official superior to the licensing authority. The value of this route is that the decision of refusal is re-examined within the administrative order — often faster and at less expense than court litigation. The formal requirements of the appeal — deadlines, the content of the application and the procedure of consideration — are determined by the relevant legislation, and complying with them matters before the decision is reviewed.
In the application to the superior body it is desirable to state clearly what is contested: the incorrectness of the ground of the refusal, a violation of the procedure, or the circumstances that the authority failed to examine. Each such point should be supported by an accompanying document.
Appeal to the Court
The judicial route allows the applicant to contest the decision of refusal before an independent instance. The court examines whether the grounds of the refusal were legitimate and whether the procedure for considering the application was observed. In preparing the claim it is central to cite precisely the norms under which the license is issued and to compare them with the official motives on which the refusal rests.
The procedural rules of the court dispute — the rights of the parties, the submission of evidence, the appeal of the decision — are defined by the relevant procedural legislation. The participation of an advocate at this stage is particularly important, because court litigation has a formal procedural shape.