Criminal Appeals and Cassation in Georgia

Fix the deadline before drafting the grounds

Obtain the complete judgment, the announcement record, any service material, the hearing record and the opposing party’s appeal. Identify exactly which findings, legal classification, sentence or procedural ruling must change.

Appeal from a first-instance judgment

Under Articles 292–293 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a prosecutor, superior prosecutor, convicted person or defence lawyer may appeal a first-instance judgment considered unlawful and/or unreasonable. The appeal is filed with the court that delivered the judgment and must identify the challenged provisions, the alleged error, supporting evidence and any evidence requested for examination.

Filing an appeal does not itself suspend enforcement of the judgment. The response period and admissibility stage move quickly, so the defence should prepare both its own grounds and a reply to any prosecution appeal.

Evidence in the Court of Appeal

The appellate court reviews the case within the scope of the appeal and response. Evidence already examined at first instance is generally treated as examined. New evidence requires a focused explanation of its importance and why presentation at first instance was objectively impossible. Where evidence was examined with a substantial legal violation, the motion should identify the defect and request re-examination.

Cassation before the Supreme Court

Cassation is not a second factual appeal. Under Article 300, the challenge concerns illegality of the appellate judgment, including a substantial procedural violation, improper legal classification or a sentence that clearly does not correspond to the act and the convicted person. The cassation document must identify the legal issue, supporting facts and the precise change or annulment requested.

Article 302 provides the ordinary one-month filing period from announcement of the appellate judgment. The cassation appeal is filed with the court that rendered that judgment; the case is then transmitted to the Chamber of Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court. Admissibility and merits are separate stages.

Build the appeal file

• Complete judgment, operative part and announcement or service record
• Audio, video or written hearing record and all objections preserved at trial
• Indictment, defence position, admitted and excluded evidence, expert reports and exhibits
• Prosecution appeal and every response deadline
• Authorities supporting the legal classification, procedural violation or sentencing ground
• For new evidence, proof of importance and objective impossibility of earlier presentation
• Any Convention argument tied to a comparable European Court of Human Rights issue

What counsel should test

Focused questions

Can the appeal simply repeat the closing argument?

No. The appeal should connect each requested change to a finding, ruling, evidential issue or legal conclusion in the judgment and record.

Can new evidence be added automatically?

No. Its importance and the objective reason it could not be presented at first instance must be demonstrated.

Does every appellate judgment reach the Supreme Court?

No. The cassation appeal must satisfy the Code’s form, grounds and admissibility requirements. It should be drafted around a defined legal error rather than a general request to reconsider the facts.