Consortium Legal aid Georgia (LAG)
State of Emergency in the Country
Facts and Short Legal Analysis

1. According to the Article 7 of the Constitution of Georgia, only the special administration of the highest state institutions of Georgia are authorized to introduce the State of Emergency covering entire territory or specific part of the country.
2. According to Article 71 of the State Constitution, during a state of emergency, the President of Georgia is authorized by the force of special decree to restrict rights listed in the 13th, 14th, 15th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 21st and 26st articles of the Constitution.
3. Following to the Constitution of Georgia, on December 11, 1997, the Parliament adopted the specific normative act which is “The Law of Georgia on the State of Emergency”.
- As per the Law on State of Emergency - " Situations of Emergency is a temporary measure, which in accordance with the legislation of Georgia is
declared in the interests of ensuring the security of Georgian citizens, during a man-made disaster or epidemic, or in other cases where state authorities are deprived the opportunity to exercise their constitutional powers properly.”
- According to this law, the country's state of emergency aims to speed up the normalization of the situation in the Country, and the restoration of the rule of law.

4. In addition, the Constitution sets out the conditions under which and when a State of Emergency should be imposed in the country, and it is the President of the country who submits a special decree to the Parliament on “Decision of Imposing State of Emergency in the Country”, which is approved by Parliament within 48 hours by a majority votes of its full members.

The table below describes the legal acts issued by the President of Georgia and the Prime Minister on the introduction of the state of emergency, in accordance with the Constitution of Georgia and the Law on State of Emergency of Georgia.

Based on and in connection with the state of emergency in the whole territory of Georgia, also in view of the mass spread of the new coronavirus (COVID19), taking into account the growing challenges faced by the country, the recommendations declared by World Health Organization
(WHO) about the pandemic, and in order for the state to fulfill its constitutional obligation to ensure public security in a democratic society, mitigate the disaster for population, and manage the situation, the state of emergency has been declared in the following normative acts:

Date - 21.03.2020
Issued by - Decree #1 issued by President of Georgia
Geographic - Whole territory of Georgia
Validity Period - From March 21, 2020 up to April 21, 2020

Date - 21.03.2020
Issued by - Order #1 issued by President of Georgia
Geographic - Whole territory of Georgia
Validity Period - From March 21, 2020 up to April 21, 2020

Date - 21.03.2020
Issued by - Ordinance #5864-ss issued by Parliament of Georgia
Geographic - Whole territory of Georgia
Validity Period - From March 21, 2020 up to April 21, 2020

Date - 31.03.2020
Issued by - Decision #205 issued by Government of Georgia
Geographic - Whole territory of Georgia
Validity Period - From March 31, 2020 up to April 21, 2020

In addition, we would like to list the restrictions imposed by the Interagency Coordination Council on (COVID19) pandemic to prevent mass proliferation:

1. Schools and study institutes has stopped;
2. Recruitment to the army;
3. A large number of public servants have been transferred to remote operation and electronic service delivery mode;
4. The same recommendation was made to the private sector;
5. Gradually, both air and land traffic were restricted, banned the entry of persons of foreign nationals in Georgia;
6. Quarantine procedures have been established, control over self-isolation protection has been tightened;
7. Ski resorts were closed;
8. Banned movement of mini-busses;
9. Suspended various types of large-scale events - both cultural and sports;
10. Recommendations for the closure of facilities besides food and pharmacy, banking and delivery services were issued;

All this actions were aimed to reduce further the first stage of the virus spread, mostly imported from the foreign countries.

It is important to know that all individuals and legal entities are required to follow a state of emergency. Otherwise the state of emergency regime violation aims to:
Administrative liability - a fine of 3,000 GEL for individuals and 15,000 GEL for legal entities; The same actions repeatedly lead to criminal liability, in particular, the term of imprisonment up to 3 years. Law enforcement agencies are obliged to use coercive measures envisaged by the legislation of Georgia in order to protect the regime and in the same time maintain the stability announced during the state of emergency !!!

The government has set up a special website - www.stopcov.ge - to inform the public about pandemic (COVID19).
#StopCoV