What this means in practice
After a public fight, preserve CCTV, phone video, injuries, witness identities and the sequence of events. Identification, participation, intent and self-defence should be assessed separately for each person.
The object and the conduct must both be classified
Ownership, possession, storage, carrying, transport, use and registration are not interchangeable. Public-order allegations may also require separate analysis of identification, self-defence, injury and police conduct.
For Public Fights and Alleged Hooliganism, the early priority is to identify the object and the precise prohibited conduct alleged. The first evidence review should include weapon, ammunition and ballistic records and should be completed before assumptions harden into the case narrative.
Issues to assess early
Identify the object and the precise prohibited conduct alleged
Separate ownership, possession, storage, carrying and use
Preserve video, body-camera, location and witness evidence
Assess self-defence, proportionality and the legality of police actions
Evidence that may matter
Evidence must be examined in context. Existence of a document, transfer, message or device artefact does not answer every question about authorship, knowledge, purpose, legality, completeness or reliability.
- Weapon, ammunition and ballistic records
- Permits, registration and storage evidence
- CCTV, phone video and police recordings
- Injury, scene and forensic material
- Witness accounts and command records
Potential Criminal Code provisions
The provisions below are a focused research map for public fights and alleged hooliganism, not a statement that any person has committed an offence. Each element, part, threshold and aggravating circumstance must be checked against the current Georgian text and the actual evidence.
Illegal firearms, ammunition or explosives activity
Purchase, storage, carrying, manufacture, transport and sale are distinct forms of conduct under the provision.
Read full Article 236 text on this pageHooliganism
Requires the public-order and violence-or-threat elements in the current provision; participation and self-defence must be assessed individually.
Read full Article 239 text on this pageIntentional bodily-injury provisions
Articles 117, 118 and 120 address different classifications of intentional harm. Article 119 is deleted, so the medical classification, causation, intent and any claimed self-defence must be mapped to the current provisions.
Read full Articles 117, 118 and 120 text on this pageAn investigation may start under one article and later be narrowed, expanded or reclassified. New evidence, expert conclusions, the legally assessed consequence, a defence application, prosecutorial review or a court ruling may support a different provision, part or aggravating circumstance. The Georgian consolidated text controls; an English translation may lag.
Read the relevant provisions before the external source
The operative English text below is reproduced from the official consolidated Criminal Code of Georgia, publication 296, accessed 9 August 2026. Formatting has been normalised for on-screen reading; the current Georgian-language consolidated text controls if wording or timing differs.
Article 236Illegal purchase, storage, carrying, manufacturing, transportation, forwarding or sale of firearms (other than hunting smooth-bore firearms (shotguns)), ammunition, explosives or explosive devices+
1. Illegal purchase or storage of a hunting firearm or a sports firearm, or of ammunition intended for such a weapon, –
shall be punished by a fine or house arrest for a term of six months to two years, or by imprisonment for a term of up to two years.
2. An act under paragraph 1 of this article committed:
a) by a group of persons;
b) repeatedly, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of two to five years.
3. Illegal purchase or storage of a firearm (except for the one provided for in paragraph 1 of this article), ammunition (except for the one provided for in paragraph 1 of this article), explosive substance or explosive device, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of three to six years.
4. Illegal carrying of a firearm, ammunition, explosive substance or explosive device, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of four to seven years.
5. Illegal manufacturing, transportation, forwarding or sale of a firearm, ammunition, explosive substance or explosive device, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of six to nine years.
6. An act provided for in paragraph 3, 4 or 5 of this article committed by:
a) a group of persons;
b) a person who has previously been convicted for an offence under paragraph 3, 4 or 5 of this article, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of eight to eleven years.
Note: A person who voluntarily hands in the items provided for in this article shall be discharged from criminal liability, unless there are other elements of crime in his/her act.
Open Article 236 in the official consolidated Criminal Code↗︎Article 239Hooliganism+
1. Hooliganism, i.e. an act that grossly violates public order and demonstrates clear disrespect towards the public, using violence or threat of violence, –
shall be punished by a fine or community service for a term of 120 to 180 hours or by corrective labour for up to one year, or by house arrest for a term of six months to two years or imprisonment for a term of up to one year.
2. The same act committed:
a) by a group of persons with preliminary agreement;
b) against a representative of public authorities or a person preventing hooliganism;
c) by a person convicted of hooliganism, –
shall be punished by a fine or community service from 180 to 200 hours or by corrective labour from one to two years or by imprisonment for a term of two to five years.
3. The act provided for by paragraph 1 or 2 of this article committed by using firearms or any other object as a weapon, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of four to seven years.
Open Article 239 in the official consolidated Criminal Code↗︎Article 117Intentional infliction of serious harm to health+
1. Intentional infliction of serious harm to health, i.e. bodily injury that is dangerous for life or which has caused the loss of eyesight, hearing, speech or any organ or its function, mental disorder, interruption of pregnancy, permanent disfigurement of the face or other such injury that is dangerous for life and causes permanent loss of general working ability by at least one third, or complete loss of professional working ability knowingly, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of four to seven years, with or without the restriction of the rights regarding weapons.
2. An act provided for by paragraph 1 of this article, which has caused the loss of life, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of five to eight years, with or without the restriction of the rights regarding weapons.
3. An act provided for by paragraph 1 of this article, committed:
a) in connection with the official activities or performance of public duties of a victim or his/her close relative;
b) with regard to hostage- taking;
c) by the means that intentionally endanger the life or health of others;
d) with the aim of concealing any other crime or facilitating its commission;
e) against a family member;
f) by an offender knowingly on a pregnant woman;
g) by an offender knowingly on a minor, a helpless person or a person with a disability;
h) with hooligan motives;
i) due to race, religion, national or ethnic intolerance;
j) due to intolerance for equality of women with men;
k) by a group of persons;
l) against two or more persons;
m) with an extreme cruelty;
n) for mercenary purposes or by contract;
o) with the aim of transplanting or otherwise using an organ, part of an organ or a tissue of a victim’ s body;
p) repeatedly (except for murders under Articles 110-114 of this Code);
q) by a person who had previously committed a murder under Article 108 or 109 of this Code, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of nine to thirteen years, with or without the restriction of the rights regarding weapons.
4. An act provided for by paragraph 3 of this article, which has caused the loss of life, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of ten to fourteen years, with or without the restriction of the rights regarding weapons.
Open Article 117 in the official consolidated Criminal Code↗︎Article 118Intentional infliction of less serious harm to health+
1. Intentional infliction of less serious harm to health that is not dangerous for life and has not entailed a consequence provided for by Article 117 of this Code but which is related to a long-term deterioration of health or to a stable and less than one-third loss of general working ability, –
shall be punished by corrective labour for a term of up to 18 months or house arrest for a term of six months to two years, or by imprisonment for a term of two to four years, with or without the restriction of the rights regarding weapons.
2. Intentional infliction of less serious harm to health committed under the aggravating circumstances provided for by Article 117(3) of this Code, or by a person who had previously inflicted intentionally a serious health to health or committed an act provided for in Article 108 or 109 of this Code, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of four to six years, with or without the restriction of the rights regarding weapons.
3. An act provided for in paragraph 2 of this article, which has caused the loss of life, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of five to eight years, with or without the restriction of the rights regarding weapons.
Open Article 118 in the official consolidated Criminal Code↗︎Article 120Intentional infliction of minor harm to health+
1. Intentional infliction of minor harm to health, which has entailed a short-term deterioration of health or an insignificant or unstable loss of general working ability, –
shall be punished by a fine or corrective labour for a term of up to six months, or house arrest for a term of six months to two years, or imprisonment for a term of one to three years, with or without restriction of the rights regarding weapons.
2. Intentional infliction of minor harm to health committed under the aggravating circumstances provided for by Article 117(3) of this Code, or by a person who had previously inflicted intentionally serious harm to health, less serious harm to health or committed an act provided for in Article 108 or 109 of this Code, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of three to five years, with or without restriction of the rights regarding weapons.
Open Article 120 in the official consolidated Criminal Code↗︎How Georgian criminal law frames Public Fights and Alleged Hooliganism
A useful legal analysis does not begin and end with the name of an offence. It identifies what must be proved, what remains disputed and which neighbouring legal route may better fit the established facts.
What must the evidence establish?
The case should be tested for classification of the object, possession or conduct, authority, identification, intent and any violence or public-order element. A complaint, financial loss, injury, seized object or digital trace may justify investigation, but does not by itself prove every element.
Where is the legal boundary?
The material must distinguish storage, carrying, use and public-order conduct, and from lawful possession or self-defence. Attempt, assistance, group activity, repetition and legally defined consequences may also alter the applicable article or part.
What evidence needs independent testing?
Priority material commonly includes seizure records, licensing data, fingerprints or DNA, CCTV, injuries, police recordings and witness accounts. Reliability depends on lawful collection, completeness, provenance, authorship, chain of custody and a method capable of being challenged.
In a Public Fights and Alleged Hooliganism matter, an object or confrontation may lead to arrest before possession, lawful authority, identification, proportionality, self-defence and video evidence are fully assessed.
The immediate decision is how to protect the record and prepare for arrest and safety response without prejudicing the client’s procedural position. This is a fictional example for orientation, not a report of a client matter or an assumption of guilt.
How the process may develop
Not every matter reaches every stage, and several steps can overlap. Arrest, search, seizure, charging, restraint measures and court review each have their own legal basis. Current deadlines should be verified against the consolidated Criminal Procedure Code and the specific decision served in the case.
How defence counsel can assist
Criminal defence counsel can clarify status and rights, attend permitted investigative actions, review prosecution evidence, obtain lawful defence evidence, prepare motions and submissions, represent the client at restraint and trial hearings, negotiate only where instructed and appropriate, and coordinate appeals or international work.
An investigation or charge is not a conviction. Only a court may find a person guilty, and defence rights must remain practical and effective throughout the proceedings.
Frequently asked questions
Does Article 236 — Illegal firearms, ammunition or explosives activity — automatically apply to Public Fights and Alleged Hooliganism?+
For Public Fights and Alleged Hooliganism, Article 236, Article 239, Article 117, 118 and 120 may provide a starting point, but a page title is not a legal qualification. Investigators and prosecutors must match proved facts to every element, part and aggravating circumstance. The qualification may be narrowed, expanded or changed after expert results, new evidence, a defence motion, prosecutorial review or a court decision. Purchase, storage, carrying, manufacture, transport and sale are distinct forms of conduct under the provision.
Which factual boundary is decisive in a Public Fights and Alleged Hooliganism case?+
In a Public Fights and Alleged Hooliganism case, the evidence must distinguish storage, carrying, use and public-order conduct, and from lawful possession or self-defence. That boundary is tested through the person's individual conduct, knowledge or intent, the legally classified consequence and every circumstance relied upon to move the allegation into a different article or aggravated part.
What evidence can prove—or undermine—the allegation of Public Fights and Alleged Hooliganism?+
The focused record for Public Fights and Alleged Hooliganism is not the same as for every offence. Priority material includes seizure records, licensing data, fingerprints or DNA, CCTV, injuries, police recordings and witness accounts. The defence should test provenance, completeness, authorship, lawful collection, chain of custody and whether each item proves the disputed element rather than merely repeating the accusation.
Can the article or charge for Public Fights and Alleged Hooliganism change after the investigation starts?+
Yes. For Public Fights and Alleged Hooliganism, Article 236, Article 239, Article 117, 118 and 120 may be a starting map, but expert results, quantity or value, injury classification, individual role, attempt or participation, a defence application, prosecutorial review or a court decision may support a different article, part or legal outcome.
What should be preserved immediately in a Public Fights and Alleged Hooliganism matter?+
In a Public Fights and Alleged Hooliganism matter, preserve the original chronology, procedural records and the topic-specific material before routine loss or alteration. Early advice is important because the first police narrative may precede full video and forensic review; preservation must be lawful and must not involve hiding, changing or coordinating evidence.
Primary sources for this guide
Legislation can change and official English translations may lag the Georgian text. Check the current consolidated version and obtain advice before relying on a deadline, offence classification or remedy.
Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia↗︎Official consolidated Criminal Code — current text & PDF↗︎Constitution of Georgia↗︎