The legal and evidential questions
Customs Seizure of Art or Antiquities. The first task is to identify the object's legal and cultural classification. The statutory starting point shown on this page is Article 214 (Breach of rules for moving goods across the customs border). The declaration, goods, route, value, knowledge and criminal threshold must be distinguished from an administrative customs breach.
Secure customs declarations, permits, provenance, valuation, export restrictions, packing and transport records, photographs and the complete seizure inventory.
Ownership and export status require specialist verification
An object's age, origin or appearance does not alone establish protected cultural status or criminal conduct. Provenance, permits, title, authenticity and custody should be established before conclusions are drawn.
Questions to answer first
Identify the object's legal and cultural classification
Preserve provenance, title and customs documentation
Distinguish ownership disputes from criminal conduct
Coordinate experts, customs, museums, collectors and foreign counsel
Evidence that may matter
- Provenance and acquisition records
- Permits, export and customs documents
- Object photographs and condition reports
- Registry, catalogue and expert material
- Payment and communication history
Criminal Code articles to check
Breach of rules for moving goods across the customs border
The declaration, goods, route, value, knowledge and criminal threshold must be distinguished from an administrative customs breach.
Read full Article 214 text on this pageDamage or destruction of cultural heritage
Classification depends on the protected object, conduct, mental element, damage and any national or world-heritage status.
Read full Article 259² text on this pageRead the relevant Criminal Code provisions
The panel below reproduces the available official English wording for convenient reading. Check the current Georgian text and the exact article part before relying on it, because later amendments may not yet appear in translation.
Article 214Breach of the procedure related to the movement of goods across the customs border of Georgia+
1. Moving large quantities of movable property across the customs border of Georgia by circumventing customs control or in secret involving deceptive use of documents or means of identification, entry of false data into the customs declaration, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of three to five years.
2. The same act committed by an organised group, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of five to seven years.
3. Movement across the customs border of Georgia of monuments of cultural heritage or other articles of cultural heritage registered in accordance with the legislation of Georgia, or of jewellery made of precious metals or of scrap jewellery in violation of the rules, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of four to seven years.
4. Movement across the customs border of Georgia of poisonous, toxic, radioactive or explosive substances, armament, explosive equipment, firearms, those materials or equipment that may be used for the production of weapons of mass destruction or strategically important raw materials in violation of the rules, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of five to eight years.
5. The act provided for by paragraphs 2, 3 or 4 of this article which has been committed:
a) repeatedly;
b) by an official or a person of equal status by abusing the official position;
c) using violence against the person exercising customs control;
d) by a group with preliminary agreement, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of eight to eleven years.
6. The act provided for by paragraphs 1, 2, 3 or 4 of this article committed by an organised group, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of eleven to fifteen years.
Note:
1. Under this article, except for paragraph 2 of this Note, the large quantities shall mean an article the customs value of which exceeds GEL 15 000, and particularly large quantities shall mean an article with customs value exceeding GEL 25 000.
2. In the case of articles imported using hiding places or by avoiding customs control by illegally crossing the customs border of Georgia, large quantities shall mean an article with customs value exceeding GEL 5 000, and particularly large quantities shall mean an article with the customs value exceeding GEL 15 000.
The consolidated official source is listed in the source section at the end of this guide.
Article 259²Damage or destruction of cultural heritage+
1. Intentional damage or destruction of cultural heritage sites or of other cultural heritage protected under the legislation of Georgia, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for up to two years.
2. Intentional damage of monuments of national significance, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of two to four years.
3. Destruction of a monument of national significance, as well as damage or destruction of a monument included in the world heritage list, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of four to eight years.
4. An act defined in paragraph 1 or 2 of this article that has been committed by negligence:
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for up to one year.
The consolidated official source is listed in the source section at the end of this guide.
How the process may develop
Primary sources for this guide
Before acting, compare this guide with the current Georgian text and the exact document served in the case. The official English translation may not include the latest amendment.
Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia↗︎Official consolidated Criminal Code — current text & PDF↗︎Constitution of Georgia↗︎