A Road Traffic Accident and the Boundaries of Liability
The displacement of a vehicle participating in a road traffic accident from the place of the accident, except for the cases provided for by law, carries a fine of 250 GEL. A driver leaving the scene of the accident carries 250 GEL together with a 6-month suspension of the driving right, and for a person without a driving right — a fine of 1500 GEL. Failure to comply with a police order to stop carries 500 GEL.
These three compositions must be kept strictly apart: displacement is lawful in the cases the law allows, leaving is not, and a refusal to stop is a separate offence. Every document of the case — the protocol, the diagram, the witness statements — revolves around exactly this distinction, and a misclassification here is the most frequent error of all.
Aggravated Compositions and Their Consequences
A violation under this article accompanied by the creation of an emergency situation or by disruption of road traffic carries a fine of 1500 GEL and a 1-year suspension of the driving right; for a person without the driving right — 2000 GEL or administrative arrest from 5 to 15 days.
Where the violation was accompanied by light damage to a vehicle, to property or to health, the fine is 2000 GEL together with a 3-year suspension, and for a person without the right — 2500 GEL or arrest from 7 to 15 days. Each of these parts is classified separately, and the defense must examine each one separately; merging them into a single sanction is impermissible.
Contesting Fault — What the Lawyer Checks
The defense begins with the question whether there was a leaving at all: the law permits displacement in defined situations, and if the movement of the vehicle happened within the frames the law allows, treating it as a leaving is an error. We then examine the content of the protocol, the witness statements, the technical evidence, and who was involved in providing the necessary assistance.
The position of the victim is a separate direction: the victim, too, has the right to appeal, and the victim stance often determines how the case develops. We build the version of the defense on documents and prepare it in the format the examining organ actually reads.
Appealing the Decision — Deadline and Route
The decision is appealed to a superior organ, whose decision is then challenged in court. The right to appeal belongs to the person against whom the decision was issued, to the victim and to the author of the protocol. The complaint is filed with the issuing organ and forwarded within 3 days to the organ competent to examine it; no state duty is charged.
The appeal period is 10 days from delivery of the decision, and a period missed for a valid reason may be restored. An appeal does not suspend the execution of the decision unless otherwise provided, and on appeal the burden of proving unlawfulness rests on the appellant — which is why the complaint must be reasoned and documented from the outset.
An important exception exists: where the law provides administrative arrest for the offence together with another sanction, a decision imposing a fine is not appealed to a superior organ at all and goes directly to the court. A decision of the district court may in turn be appealed to the administrative chamber of the appellate court, the complaint being filed with the court that issued the decision.
The Surcharge and Replacement with a Suspension
After the expiry of the basic payment period, this offence attracts a surcharge of double the fine, but not more than 500 GEL; and where the amount remains unpaid within the additional period provided by the Code, the fine is replaced with a 6-month suspension of the driving right. Payment of the fine, or its replacement, does not release the person from the surcharge — a point that must be weighed together with any decision.
That is why we run the case on two tracks: contesting the fault and appealing the decision on the one side, and managing the sanctions — the payment calendar and the replacement risk — on the other, so as to win the argument without aggravating the consequences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are the core questions of administrative defense in road traffic accident cases.
What does leaving the scene lead to?
A 250 GEL fine and a 6-month suspension of the driving right; for a person without the right — 1500 GEL.
What happens with light damage inflicted?
A 2000 GEL fine and a 3-year suspension; for a person without the right — 2500 GEL or arrest from 7 to 15 days.
Within what period is the decision appealed?
Within 10 days of delivery — first to the superior organ, then to the court; a missed period may be restored.
Does paying the fine release from the surcharge?
No — neither payment nor replacement with a suspension releases the person from the surcharge.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The lawyers of Legal.ge open a road traffic accident case from the very first document: we analyse the protocol and the evidence, build the defense of the fault position, appeal the decision to the superior organ and to the court, and manage the sanctions in parallel. Contact us — we will build a precise plan on your materials on Legal.ge.