A knife is not automatically a “cold weapon”
Start with the actual object, its measurements, construction and condition, and the method used by the expert. A police officer calling something a “knife” does not prove that it meets the legal and technical definition of a cold or melee weapon.
Article 181¹ addresses carrying a cold or melee weapon in listed public settings and other places of public gathering. The record should identify the exact location and how the item was held, attached, kept or otherwise available to the person rather than treating ownership and carrying as identical.
The Code recognises context-specific exclusions connected with activities such as food, professional work, hunting, fishing, agriculture and national dress, subject to the public-order and danger conditions in the operative text. These are factual questions requiring contemporaneous evidence of purpose and setting.
Prior legal status can change the case
Article 181¹ is administrative. Criminal Code Article 238¹ can apply where the law’s specified prior penalty, conviction or active protective or restraining order exists. The exact record and effective dates must be proved; a vague reference to “prior history” is not enough.
Four questions to answer before discussing a penalty
What object was seized, and does a competent technical examination classify it as a cold or melee weapon?
Where exactly was the item and could the person use it immediately in the manner alleged?
Was the location a listed public setting or another place of public gathering under the current provision?
What purpose, prior penalty, conviction or active order affects an exclusion or the criminal-law boundary?
Preserve the object, search record and surrounding evidence
- Seizure and inspection reports, complete inventory, packaging, seals and chain of custody
- High-resolution photographs with scale, measurements and condition before laboratory handling
- Expert conclusion, methodology, technical criteria and underlying examination notes
- Body-camera, CCTV and witness evidence showing location, possession and accessibility
- Work, cooking, hunting, fishing, agricultural, travel or national-dress evidence where relevant
- Certified prior decisions, conviction record and any active restraining or protective order
Was the search lawful, and is the expert conclusion sound?
The defence should reconstruct why the person was stopped, searched or inspected and how the item was discovered. An administrative challenge to the inspection or seizure may proceed alongside the merits. Any inconsistency between the property inventory, photographs and expert description should be identified before the hearing.
Technical classification should be tested against the current Law on Weapons and applicable government standards. Counsel should also distinguish transport, storage and immediate carrying; consider whether a recognised purpose is supported; and confirm whether the prosecution alleges a first administrative procedure or a criminal case under Article 238¹.
Article 181¹ or Criminal Code Article 238¹?
Carrying in public settings
Object classification, place, manner of possession, purpose and prior status are separate evidential questions.
Read the Article 181¹ scopeTechnical weapon classification
The Law defines cold or melee weapons and connects classification to approved technical characteristics.
Open the current Weapons LawStatus-based criminal boundary
Specified prior penalties, convictions and active protective or restraining orders can create criminal exposure.
Open the current Criminal CodeArticle 181¹ — classification, carrying and context
This panel states the principal administrative procedure without freezing a sanction table. The current Georgian text, technical criteria, prior-status record and exact location must be checked in every case.
Article 181¹Carrying of cold or melee weapons+
The article addresses carrying a qualifying cold or melee weapon in specified public places and other places of public gathering, with different consequences for qualifying repeat conduct.
The provision contains context-specific exclusions and a definition of carrying. The operative wording, technical classification, public-order condition and any prior status affecting Criminal Code Article 238¹ must be verified.
Open the current consolidated Code on Matsne↗︎The article or procedure may have changed. Check the current Georgian text and the exact document served in the case before relying on this summary.
How we prepare the case
Primary sources for this guide
Administrative law can change quickly, and the official English text may lag behind the Georgian consolidation. Check the article part, issuing authority and document served in the case before acting.
Administrative Offences Code of Georgia — current consolidated record↗︎Law of Georgia on Weapons — definitions and technical classification↗︎Criminal Code of Georgia — Article 238¹ boundary↗︎Constitution of Georgia↗︎