Why is the judgment enforceable?

Under Article 2 of the enforcement law, a European Court of Human Rights decision binding on Georgia under the Convention is subject to enforcement.

How is the debtor notified?

The Bureau informs the debtor within five days of the opening of proceedings; a seven-day voluntary-performance window determines the amount of the enforcement fee imposed.

Is territoriality mandatory?

The application goes to the Bureau's territorial organ by the debtor's or property's location, but for a natural-person creditor observance of territoriality is not mandatory.

Enforcement of European Court of Human Rights Judgments

Q: How does enforcement of an ECtHR judgment begin?

Under Article 25 the Bureau opens proceedings on the basis of an individual administrative-legal act of the Minister of Justice of Georgia, instead of the creditor's application and enforcement writ used in the general case.

Enforcing a Strasbourg Judgment in Georgia: the Legal Basis

A judgment of the European Court of Human Rights is an enforceable instrument in Georgia. Under Article 2 of the Georgian Law on Enforcement Proceedings, a decision of the European Court of Human Rights which, in accordance with the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, is binding on Georgia is subject to enforcement under the procedure established by that law. A Strasbourg judgment therefore does not remain an international document only — it enters the Georgian enforcement system and is executed through the national mechanism.

The difference from the general rule is especially important: like ordinary court decisions, enforcement proceedings ordinarily open on the basis of the creditor's written application and an enforcement writ, but with respect to the enforcement of a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights the law establishes a different basis.

Opening Enforcement: the Individual Administrative-Legal Act of the Minister of Justice

Article 25 of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings describes the mechanism precisely: the National Bureau of Enforcement opens enforcement proceedings on the basis of the creditor's written application for compulsory enforcement and an enforcement writ, whereas with respect to the enforcement of a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights — on the basis of an individual administrative-legal act of the Minister of Justice of Georgia. The launching document is thus neither an enforcement writ nor the creditor's application: the basis is the Minister of Justice's individual act.

This mechanism also dictates the practical steps: a party seeking enforcement of a Strasbourg judgment first needs the individual administrative-legal act of the Minister of Justice, and on the basis of that act the National Bureau of Enforcement opens the proceedings. No enforcement writ is required for this category — the law assigns the launching function precisely to the Minister's act.

Territoriality and Manner of Submission

Under Article 25, an enforcement writ and/or an enforceable decision is submitted to the territorial organ of the National Bureau of Enforcement according to the location of the debtor or of his property. When applying to the Bureau with a request to open enforcement proceedings, observance of the territoriality principle is not mandatory if the creditor is a natural person, a legal person of private law or an association of persons without legal personality — for a victim of a human-rights violation this enlarges procedural choice.