Grounds of Liability and Appeal
Under the Law of Georgia on Labor Safety, liability for violating labor safety norms is determined by this law and by other legislative and sub-legislative acts of Georgia, while matters connected with administrative offense proceedings are also regulated by the Code of Administrative Offenses. A decision of the supervisory organ on an administrative offense case is appealed in the manner established by Georgian legislation, and the form of the administrative offense protocol and the rules for its completion and submission are determined by an administrative-legal act of the minister. The first stage of the defense is therefore establishing what kind of violation the facts have been classified as and by which procedure the decision may be challenged.
Administrative Penalties and the Instruction
The administrative penalties provided for by the law are a warning, a fine and suspension of the work process. When applying a warning or a fine, the supervisory organ issues an instruction to correct the detected violation within a reasonable period. The reasonable period is determined on the basis of consultation with the employer, the labor safety specialist and the employees' representative, and is recorded in a protocol signed by both parties. After the period expires, the organ inspects the violator and draws up an inspection act recording whether the instruction was fulfilled or not. This mechanism creates room for defense: timely fulfillment of the instruction averts the harsher penalty.