Student disciplinary procedures in Georgian higher education are governed by paragraphs 7, 8, 9 and 10 of Article 43 of the Law on Higher Education. This page is devoted precisely to procedural guarantees — the rules that a higher education institution must observe in every disciplinary proceeding. The substantive question — what counts as a violation and what sanction may be applied — is defined by the institution's charter and code of ethics, but the procedural standard is set by the law itself and cannot be narrowed by the charter.
When disciplinary proceedings begin, and what they must not cost the student
Paragraph 8 of Article 43 establishes two fundamental rules. First: the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against a student must not restrict the student's right to participate in the study process — exclusion from studies is permissible only where it endangers the protection of others' rights, health, the institution's property and safety, and where those cases are provided for by the charter and internal rules. Second: the question is decided by the higher education institution, whose charter determines the organ authorised to adopt the decision.
Procedurally this means that until the accusation is proven, the student continues studying. Temporary restriction is possible only in defined, safety-related cases. If the institution removes a student from the study process immediately upon initiation, without any threat existing, this directly contradicts the law and constitutes a ground for appeal.
The five procedural rights that every proceeding must safeguard
Paragraph 9 of Article 43 sets out the catalogue of rights a student enjoys while disciplinary proceedings are being conducted: to receive a reasoned decision in written form on the initiation of the proceedings; to attend the examination of the case and to exercise the right of defence; to submit to the relevant organ of the institution the information and evidence at the student's disposal; to participate in the examination of the evidence obtained by the relevant organ; and to request that the case be examined at a public hearing.
The violation of each of these rights is an independent ground for complaint. In practice the most frequently violated is the first — the student is not told in writing what exactly is being alleged, or the decision is not reasoned. Remember: an oral notification or a formal notice without reasons does not satisfy the statutory standard — the decision must be written and reasoned.