Forum Strategy — Where to Litigate
In an international dispute the first strategic question is not the content of the law but the forum: which country's court will be competent. The Georgian Law on Private International Law regulates this question fully: the principle of international competence (Article 8), the cases of competence (Article 9), exclusive competence (Article 10), agreements of the parties on competence — prorogation (Article 18), parallel proceedings (Article 19) and provisional measures (Article 20).
The Principle and Cases of Competence
Georgian courts have international competence where the defendant has a place of residence, a seat or a habitual residence in Georgia (Article 8). In addition, competence exists where: the defendants are several persons and one of them has a place of residence in Georgia; the place of performance of the obligations defined by the contract is Georgia; the action concerns damage caused by a wrongful or comparable act and the act or the damage occurred in Georgia; the dispute concerns a branch of an enterprise whose seat is in Georgia; the case concerns the establishment of paternity or alimony and the child's or the recipient's place of residence or habitual residence is in Georgia; or the subject of the action is succession and the deceased had at death a place of residence, habitual residence or estate in Georgia (Article 9).
Exclusive Competence
Georgian courts have exclusive international competence only over actions concerning: immovable property located in Georgia; the validity or dissolution of decisions of a legal person or its organ where the seat of the legal person or its organ is in Georgia; the registration of legal persons by Georgian courts or other organs; the registration of a patent, trademark or other right, where that registration or the application for it took place in Georgia; and enforcement measures, where their request or execution took place in Georgia (Article 10). Agreements of the parties on competence over these spheres are void.