A convicted individual will be prohibited from leaving the country until they have fully compensated the victim for the harm caused. These proposed amendments are included in the Law “On the Rules for the Exit and Entry of Citizens from Georgia”.
Currently, the law outlines the grounds for temporarily restricting the right of Georgian citizens to leave the country. Specifically, under existing legislation, a Georgian citizen may be denied a passport for temporary departure and entry if a court has issued an order prohibiting them from leaving.
The draft law stipulates that a citizen will be barred from leaving the country if, in accordance with the procedures set out in the Criminal Procedure Code, they are legally prohibited from departing Georgia and have not presented a notarised document confirming that they have paid compensation to the victim, or that they have fully compensated the victim in accordance with the law. Conversely, if the victim refuses to accept compensation or to be compensated in accordance with legal procedures, this will also be taken into account.
The amendments further specify the grounds for refusing to issue an emigration permit to a Georgian citizen. Similar conditions regarding compensation and damages will apply in this context. Additionally, an amendment has been introduced to the law stating that a Georgian citizen may be refused a passport for temporary departure or crossing the border if the requirements of the first paragraph of Article 28 of the Law “On Enforcement Proceedings” are not met.
“The draft’s development is motivated by the need to establish an effective mechanism for ensuring compensation for harm caused to individuals. To minimize the risk of evasion by those responsible for causing damage, a legal lever is created to prevent convicted persons from leaving the country until they have fully compensated the victim, in accordance with the procedures established by law,” the explanatory note accompanying the draft law states.
