What the accusation must actually prove
A death does not by itself establish murder; intent, causation, negligence, justification and alternative medical explanations must be separated.
What act or omission caused death, with what mental element, and which competing explanation has been excluded?
The prosecution must prove every required element beyond reasonable doubt; suspicion, association or an adverse outcome cannot fill an evidential gap.
Evidence specific to this allegation
Autopsy and toxicology, medical history, scene reconstruction, communications, timeline, device location and expert opinions.
Conduct
Define the exact act attributed to each person, including time, place and role.
Mental element
Test knowledge, intent, purpose or negligence required by the potential provision.
Consequence and causation
Separate what happened from what the accused legally caused.
Articles that may enter the qualification
These provisions are orientation points, not a conclusion. An investigation may start under one article and later be narrowed, expanded or reclassified as facts, expert results, article parts, aggravating circumstances and procedural decisions develop.
Murder
Relevant where the allegation is intentional killing; causation, intent and any alternative classification require separate proof.
Read full Article 108 text on this pageRead the relevant provisions before the external source
The operative English text below is reproduced from the official consolidated Criminal Code of Georgia, publication 296, accessed 9 August 2026. Formatting has been normalised for on-screen reading; the current Georgian-language consolidated text controls if wording or timing differs.
Article 108Intentional killing+
Intentional killing, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of ten to fifteen years, with or without restriction of the rights regarding weapons.
Open Article 108 in the official consolidated Criminal Code↗︎How counsel turns the issue into a case plan
For homicide, counsel can identify the operative procedure and decision-maker, test the prosecution theory against each legal element, obtain lawful defence material, frame expert or disclosure requests, preserve objections and prepare the next motion, hearing or cross-border step. Advice must be based on the actual record rather than the page title alone.
Secure independent expert review early and preserve every sample, image and scene record.
Questions clients ask about homicide
Does Article 108 — Murder — automatically apply to Homicide?+
For Homicide, Article 108 may provide a starting point, but a page title is not a legal qualification. Investigators and prosecutors must match proved facts to every element, part and aggravating circumstance. The qualification may be narrowed, expanded or changed after expert results, new evidence, a defence motion, prosecutorial review or a court decision. Relevant where the allegation is intentional killing; causation, intent and any alternative classification require separate proof.
Which factual boundary is decisive in a Homicide case?+
In a Homicide case, the evidence must distinguish the alleged conduct from a neighbouring offence, lawful conduct or a credible defence. That boundary is tested through the person's individual conduct, knowledge or intent, the legally classified consequence and every circumstance relied upon to move the allegation into a different article or aggravated part.
What evidence can prove—or undermine—the allegation of Homicide?+
The focused record for Homicide is not the same as for every offence. Priority material includes scene material, medical evidence, original communications, identification evidence and a complete event chronology. The defence should test provenance, completeness, authorship, lawful collection, chain of custody and whether each item proves the disputed element rather than merely repeating the accusation.
Can the article or charge for Homicide change after the investigation starts?+
Yes. For Homicide, Article 108 may be a starting map, but expert results, quantity or value, injury classification, individual role, attempt or participation, a defence application, prosecutorial review or a court decision may support a different article, part or legal outcome.
What should be preserved immediately in a Homicide matter?+
In a Homicide matter, preserve the original chronology, procedural records and the topic-specific material before routine loss or alteration. Early advice is important because memories, recordings and physical traces can disappear quickly; preservation must be lawful and must not involve hiding, changing or coordinating evidence.
Primary sources for this guide
Legislation can change and official English translations may lag the Georgian text. Check the current consolidated version and obtain advice before relying on a deadline, offence classification or remedy.
Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia↗︎Official consolidated Criminal Code — current text & PDF↗︎Ministry of Finance Investigation Service↗︎