The legal and evidential questions
Private Messages, Recordings and Publication. The first task is to preserve volatile digital evidence without altering it. The statutory starting point shown on this page is Article 157 (Disclosure of information on private life or personal data). It covers specified unlawful obtaining, storage, use or disclosure that satisfies the article's consequence and circumstance requirements; privacy concern alone does not settle criminal liability.
Retain original recordings, message exports, access history, publication route, audience and consent evidence; separate obtaining, keeping, using and disclosing the material.
A device or account does not identify its user automatically
Ownership of a phone, SIM, mailbox, profile or wallet may be relevant, but attribution requires reliable evidence of access, control, authorisation and conduct at the material time.
Questions to answer first
Preserve volatile digital evidence without altering it
Separate device ownership from authorship and account control
Identify authorisation, access method, intent and alleged consequence
Coordinate criminal, privacy, employment, platform and recovery issues
Evidence that may matter
- Device images, logs and authentication records
- Messages, emails and platform data
- IP, location, SIM and account-recovery records
- Wallet, bank and payment evidence
- Forensic acquisition and chain-of-custody material
Criminal Code articles to check
Disclosure of information on private life or personal data
Covers specified unlawful obtaining, storage, use or disclosure that satisfies the article's consequence and circumstance requirements; privacy concern alone does not settle criminal liability.
Read full Article 157 text on this pageDisclosure of secrets of personal life
May be relevant where a secret of personal life is unlawfully obtained, stored, used or disclosed; the nature of the information, conduct, medium, role and intent require proof.
Read full Article 157¹ text on this pageViolation of the secrecy of private communication
May be relevant to unauthorised recording, interception, storage, use or disclosure of private communications; the precise act and technical method matter.
Read full Article 158 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 157Disclosure of information on private life or of personal data+
1. Unlawful obtaining, storage, use, dissemination of or otherwise making available information on private life or personal data, which has resulted in considerable damage, –
shall be punished by a fine or corrective labour for up to two years, or by imprisonment for up to three years.
2. Unlawful use and/or dissemination of information on private life or of personal data through a piece of work disseminated in a certain way, through internet, including social network, mass media or other public appearance, which has resulted in considerable damage, –
shall be punished by a fine or corrective labour for up to two years, or by imprisonment for up to four years.
3. The act provided for in paragraph 1 or 2 of this article committed:
a) for mercenary purposes;
b) repeatedly, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of up to five years.
4. The act under paragraphs 1, 2 or 3 of this article committed by a person, who, due to his/her official position, professional activities or other circumstances, was obliged to keep this information or data confidential, or who committed the above act using his/her official position, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of four to seven years, with or without deprivation of the right to hold an office or to carry out activities for up to three years.
Note:
1. A person shall not incur criminal liability for a crime (obtaining, storage) under paragraph 1 of this article if he/she has submitted the obtained/stored information specified in paragraph 1 of this article to investigative authorities and communicated information on any other committed/anticipated criminal act in this manner.
2. For committing an act under this article, a legal person shall be punished by a fine, with deprivation of the right to carry out activities, or by liquidation and a fine.
The consolidated official source is listed in the source section at the end of this guide.
Article 157¹Disclosure of secrets of personal life+
1. Unlawful obtaining, storage, use, dissemination of or otherwise making available secrets of personal life, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of four to seven years.
2. Unlawful use and/or dissemination of secrets of personal life through a piece of work disseminated in a certain way, through internet, including social network, mass media or other public appearance, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of five to eight years.
3. The act provided for in paragraph 1 or 2 of this article committed:
a) for mercenary purposes;
b) repeatedly, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of six to nine years.
4. The act under paragraphs 1, 2 or 3 of this article committed by a person, who, due to his/her official position, professional activities or other circumstances, was obliged to keep this secret confidential, or who committed the above act using his/her official position, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of seven to ten years.
Note:
1. A person shall not incur criminal liability for a crime (obtaining, storage) under paragraph 1 of this article if he/she has submitted the obtained/stored information specified in paragraph 1 of this article to investigative authorities and communicated information on any other committed/anticipated criminal act in this manner.
2. For committing an act under this article, a legal person shall be punished by deprivation of the right to carry out activities, or by liquidation and a fine.
The consolidated official source is listed in the source section at the end of this guide.
Article 158Violation of the secrecy of private communication+
1. Unauthorised recording of or eavesdropping on private conversations, or unauthorised obtaining of the computer data or of the electromagnetic waves containing such data transmitted through or from a computer system during private communication using technical means, or unlawful storage of recordings of private communications or of the information or computer data obtained through technical means, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of two to four years.
2. Unlawful use, dissemination of or otherwise making available of recordings of private communication, or information or computer data obtained through technical means, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of two to five years.
3. The act provided for by paragraph 1 or 2 of this article which has been committed:
a) for mercenary purposes;
b) repeatedly, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of three to six years.
4. The act provided for by paragraphs 1, 2 or 3 of this article, which:
a) has resulted in considerable damage;
b) was committed by abusing one’s official position, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of three to seven years, with deprivation of the right to hold an office or to carry out activities for up to three years.
Note:
1. For the purposes of this article, ‘computer data’, ‘computer system’ and ‘unauthorised’ shall be construed according to the definitions provided for by Chapter XXXV of this Code.
2. A person who has submitted the obtained/stored information specified in paragraph 1 of this article to investigative authorities and communicated the information on any other committed/anticipated criminal act in this manner shall not incur criminal liability for the crime (obtaining, storage) provided for by paragraph 1 of this article.
3. For the acts specified in this article, a legal person shall be punished by a fine, with deprivation of the right to carry out activities, or by liquidation and a fine.
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↗︎