The legal and evidential questions
Mining and Extraction Offences. The first task is to preserve the site and technical data before remediation changes it. The statutory starting point shown on this page is Article 299 (Unlicensed use of mineral resources). Licence status, extraction activity, prior administrative history or statutory damage and each operator's role must be verified.
Secure licences, extraction limits, survey and production data, site photographs, sampling methods, environmental measurements, contractor roles and remediation chronology.
Environmental harm requires technical and legal proof
A permit breach, regulatory finding and criminal offence are not identical. Causation, extent of harm, applicable operational rules and individual or corporate responsibility require reliable sampling and expertise.
Questions to answer first
Preserve the site and technical data before remediation changes it
Identify permits, operational rules and actual decision-making
Test causation, extent of harm and individual responsibility
Coordinate criminal, environmental and corporate processes
Evidence that may matter
- Permits, monitoring and inspection records
- Site, sampling and laboratory material
- Waste, transport and operational logs
- Management, contractor and maintenance records
- Engineering and environmental expertise
Criminal Code articles to check
Unlicensed use of mineral resources
Licence status, extraction activity, prior administrative history or statutory damage and each operator's role must be verified.
Read full Article 299 text on this pageEnvironmental-rule breach while performing work
The applicable operational rule, substantial or grave consequence, technical causation and actual responsibility require proof.
Read full Article 287 text on this pageInflicting substantial damage on the environment
Application depends on an illegal act, statutory damage criteria and whether the accused falls within the provision's defined persons.
Read full Article 306² 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 299Use of mineral resources without an appropriate licence+
1. Use of mineral resources (except for fresh groundwater) without an appropriate licence, committed after an administrative penalty for such an act was imposed, or use of mineral resources without an appropriate licence that has resulted in substantial damage, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of one to three years.
2. The same act committed repeatedly, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of three to five years.
Note: For the act provided for by this article, a legal person shall be punished by a fine, 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 287Breach of environmental protection rules when performing work+
Breach of the rules for design, arrangement, reconstruction, construction, commissioning of industrial, agricultural, scientific or other facilities, or breach of environmental protection rules during their operation that has resulted in substantial deterioration of the radioactive background, harm to human health, mass destruction of fauna or flora or other grave consequences, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of two to five years, with or without deprivation of the right to hold an office or to carry out activities for up to three years.
The consolidated official source is listed in the source section at the end of this guide.
Article 306²Inflicting substantial damage on the environment+
1. Inflicting substantial damage on the environment by a person on whom an administrative sanction has been imposed for committing any of the administrative offences provided for by Article 231 of the Law of Georgia on Environmental Liability, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of one to three years.
2. The same act committed repeatedly, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of three to five years.
Note:
1. For the purposes of this article, significant damage to the environment shall mean damage where the extent of environmental damage corresponds to the criteria for significant damage as provided for by Annex No 1 to the Law of Georgia on Environmental Liability.
2. A person under this article shall not mean a natural person, except for an individual entrepreneur defined by the Law of Georgia on Entrepreneurs.
3. For the act provided for by 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↗︎