A new Article 316¹ (316 Prima) will be added to the Criminal Code under the title: “Extremism Against the Constitutional Order.”

The article предусматривает criminal liability in the following cases:– systematic and public calls by a citizen of Georgia or a person without Georgian citizenship for the mass violation of legislation, mass disobedience to the authorities of Georgia, or the creation of alternative governing bodies;– as well as the arbitrary or systematic public presentation of oneself or another person as a representative of the Georgian authorities;– or any other systematic action aimed at establishing the perception that Georgia’s constitutional order or constitutional bodies are illegitimate, which harms Georgia’s interests or creates a real threat of harm to Georgia’s interests.

Such actions will result in a fine, community service ranging from 400 to 600 hours, or imprisonment for up to three years. In the case of a legal entity, the entity will be punished by a fine or by liquidation in addition to a fine.

In addition, committing a crime with the motive of acting against Georgia’s constitutional order or constitutional bodies will constitute an aggravating circumstance. In such cases, when imposing imprisonment, the term of the sentence must exceed the minimum sentence for the committed offense by at least one year.

These amendments to the Criminal Code are part of a legislative package submitted to Parliament and are being reviewed article-by-article in a second reading by the Legal Issues Committee.

The amendments were introduced to committee members by the Committee Chair, Archil Gorduladze.

“This concerns extremism, an issue raised during the first reading of the draft law. The example of Germany was cited, where individuals did not recognize constitutional bodies or the constitutional order. Their association included 20,000 people. They also called on others not to obey constitutional bodies and legislation, which posed a threat to the constitutional order. Therefore, the issue of terminating the activities of that specific organization was raised, and in the case of its leader — who presented himself as a king — the issue of criminal liability arose,” Archil Gorduladze stated.