Privacy Policy

1. Controller and scope

Assio Lex and Associates LLC, company identification number 400470566, is the controller for the personal data described in this policy. Our registered address is Erosi Manjgaladze Street N 75A, Nadzaladevi District, 0112 Tbilisi, Georgia. Privacy questions and data-subject requests may be sent to info@criminallawyers.ge.

This policy applies to visitors to CriminalLawyers.ge, people who contact us for themselves or another person, prospective and existing clients, witnesses, experts, counterparties, service providers and other people whose information is legitimately processed in connection with a legal matter. Separate engagement terms, court rules, professional duties or a matter-specific notice may supplement this policy.

Georgia's current Law on Personal Data Protection is the principal data-protection source for this notice. The official Georgian consolidated text should be checked because amendments and English translations may appear at different times.

2. Categories of data we may process

The data needed depends on the enquiry and procedural stage. We seek to collect only information that is reasonably relevant, but criminal proceedings can require unusually sensitive records.

Please do not upload or email entire case files, passwords, access codes or unrelated identity documents before we confirm what is needed and, where appropriate, provide a secure route. If you provide information about another person, you should have a lawful and appropriate reason to do so.

3. How we obtain data

We normally receive data directly from you through a form, email, telephone call, meeting or documents you provide. We may also receive it from a family member or authorised contact, another lawyer, a company, an expert, an interpreter, a public authority, a court, an official registry, a service provider or another participant in the matter. Website security and hosting systems generate limited technical data automatically.

4. Why we process data and the legal grounds

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, processing may be necessary to take steps requested before an engagement, perform a contract for legal services, comply with a legal or professional obligation, protect vital interests, establish, exercise or defend legal claims, perform a task recognised by law, or pursue a legitimate interest that is not overridden by the individual's rights. Where the law requires consent for a particular activity, we will seek it and it may be withdrawn prospectively.

• to receive, triage and respond to an enquiry, including identifying urgent detention, search, hearing or limitation issues;
• to carry out identity, authority, conflict, sanctions, source-of-funds and other acceptance checks;
• to decide whether we can act and to define the client, lawyer, scope, fee and communication arrangements;
• to provide legal advice, defence or representation, investigate facts, review evidence, instruct experts and interpreters, prepare filings and communicate with participants;
• to administer the client relationship, issue and record invoices, maintain professional files and handle questions or complaints;
• to protect clients, personnel, premises, communications, systems and records, and to investigate misuse or security incidents;
• to comply with court orders, procedural duties, professional rules, accounting requirements and other binding Georgian law; and
• to improve the accuracy, accessibility and security of the website using aggregated or appropriately minimised information.

5. Confidentiality, privilege and initial enquiries

Lawyers have professional-secrecy duties under Georgian law, including the Law of Georgia on Advocates. However, sending an unsolicited enquiry does not by itself confirm that the firm can act, create a lawyer–client relationship or make every item sent legally privileged. Representation begins only after required checks are completed and the engagement is confirmed in the legally applicable form.

Access to matter data is limited according to role and need. Where we decline an enquiry, we may still retain a proportionate record of the approach and conflict result to protect confidentiality, prevent conflicting instructions, demonstrate how the enquiry was handled and meet applicable obligations.

Live chat and WhatsApp widgets

Smartsupp provides the live-chat interface and may receive the page URL and time, IP address, device and browser information, widget events and conversation content voluntarily supplied by the visitor. Elfsight provides the WhatsApp launcher and may receive connection, technical and widget-interaction data needed to deliver and measure it. Following the launcher opens WhatsApp, where WhatsApp or Meta terms apply.

Do not use either widget to send passwords, access codes, complete case files or unnecessary special-category information before an appropriate secure channel is agreed. A widget conversation does not itself create a lawyer–client relationship; conflict, availability, scope and engagement checks still apply.

These providers may process information outside Georgia. The international-access and transfer considerations described below therefore apply to their services.

6. Recipients, processors and disclosure

We do not sell personal data. Where necessary and lawful, it may be disclosed to lawyers and authorised personnel working on the matter; courts, prosecutors, investigators or other public bodies; experts, interpreters, notaries, bailiffs, overseas counsel and other professional advisers; and carefully selected providers of hosting, email, communication widgets, document management, cybersecurity, accounting or business continuity services.

A disclosure may also occur where you authorise it, where it is necessary for the representation, to protect a person or legal right, to investigate fraud or a security incident, or when a binding legal requirement compels it. Recipients receive no more data than is reasonably required for their role, subject to legal and professional constraints.

7. International access and transfers

A criminal matter may involve a foreign client, extradition, INTERPOL channels, evidence abroad, an overseas lawyer or a technology provider operating in another country. If data is transferred or made accessible outside Georgia, we assess the purpose, recipient, destination, confidentiality duties and safeguards required by Georgian law. No transfer is made merely because it is convenient where a lawful basis and appropriate protection are absent.

8. Retention

We retain data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and for any compatible legal, regulatory, evidential, accounting, conflict-check, limitation or professional requirement. There is no single period suitable for every criminal matter.

At the end of the applicable period, data is deleted, anonymised or securely isolated from routine use, unless further retention is legally required. Backups may expire on a controlled cycle rather than immediately.

9. Security

We use organisational and technical measures proportionate to the sensitivity of legal data, which may include access control, authentication, device and account protection, secure transmission, backups, confidentiality commitments, supplier review and incident response. No internet or email system is completely risk-free. Use an agreed secure channel for sensitive documents and contact us promptly if you believe information has been sent to the wrong recipient or an account has been compromised.

10. Your data-protection rights

Subject to the conditions and exceptions in current Georgian law, you may ask for information about processing and a copy of your data; correction, updating or completion; termination of processing, deletion or destruction; blocking or restriction; withdrawal of consent where consent is the ground; and review of a decision or exercise of other rights provided by law. You may also object or complain where the applicable legal framework permits.

Send a request to info@criminallawyers.ge and identify the data or interaction concerned. We may request proportionate proof of identity or authority, especially where the request concerns a criminal file or another person. Rights are not absolute: a response may be limited to protect another person, professional secrecy, legal claims, an investigation, a court process or a binding retention duty. We will explain a lawful refusal or limitation where we are permitted to do so.

As of this update, supervisory functions under Georgian data-protection law are exercised by the State Audit Office of Georgia. Before filing, check the authority's current official procedure and contact details.

11. Children and representatives

The website is not directed to children as a general information service. A parent, guardian or other representative may contact us concerning a minor, but authority, the child's interests, confidentiality and the child's own procedural position must be assessed. Do not send a child's full identity or medical record until we confirm what is necessary.

12. Automated decisions, external links and changes

We do not use this website to make solely automated decisions that determine whether a person receives legal representation or the outcome of a legal matter. The site may link to official legislation, courts or other third parties; their privacy practices are controlled by them.

We may update this policy when services, technology, suppliers or law change. The date above identifies the published version. Material changes will be highlighted where reasonably appropriate.

13. Contact

Privacy and data-protection enquiries: info@criminallawyers.ge. Postal correspondence may be sent to Assio Lex and Associates LLC, Erosi Manjgaladze Street N 75A, Nadzaladevi District, 0112 Tbilisi, Georgia. Please mark the communication “Data protection”.