State of Emergency and Martial Law: Constitutional Foundations
The legal regime of a state of emergency and martial law is defined by Article 71 of the Constitution of Georgia. Martial law is declared in the case of an armed attack on Georgia or the immediate threat of one: the President, upon the submission of the Prime Minister, declares martial law, concludes a truce where appropriate conditions exist, and immediately submits these decisions to Parliament for approval. The decision enters into force from the moment of the declaration; Parliament approves it immediately upon convening, and if Parliament does not approve the decision, it loses legal force upon the vote.
A state of emergency is defined by the second part of the same article and rests on other grounds. It is declared throughout the territory of the country or in any part of it where the organs of state power are deprived of the possibility of the normal exercise of their constitutional powers — with the grounds listed in the Constitution. The Constitution also clearly limits the territorial operation of the regime: emergency powers extend only to the territory where the state of emergency has been declared.