Law Of Georgia On Occupied Territories
LAW OF GEORGIA ON OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Article 4 - Restriction on free movement in the occupied territories
1. Foreign citizens and stateless persons shall be allowed to enter the occupied territories only through the below route:
a) Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia - from Zugdidi municipality direction;
b) Tskhinvali region (the territories of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Region) - from Gori municipality direction.
2. Entry of the occupied territories by foreign citizens and stateless persons from any other direction, except from those defined in the first paragraph of this article, shall be prohibited and be punishable under the Criminal Code of Georgia.
3. In a particular case, persons defined in the second paragraph of this article may be granted special permission to enter the occupied territories from the prohibited directions under procedures determined by a legal act of the Government of Georgia, if this serves the state interests of Georgia, the purpose of peaceful settlement of the conflict, de-occupation, restoration of confidence between the population affected by war, or humanitarian purposes.
4. Prohibition under the second paragraph of this article and the respective liability shall not apply to:
a) foreign citizens or stateless persons who have entered Georgia directly from territories where their life or freedom was exposed to the danger under Article 1 of the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and who stay in Georgia without permission and who, under the same Convention and the legislation of Georgia, apply for asylum to Georgian authorities on the condition that they immediately appear before a government agency to provide an appropriate explanation for their illegitimate entry into or unauthorised stay in Georgia, and if there are no elements of another crime in their acts; also persons who have committed the acts due to their being victims of human trafficking before they were granted the status of victim of human trafficking;
b) persons who provide urgent humanitarian assistance in the occupied territories to ensure the rights of people to life, in particular to provide the population with food, medicines, and articles of daily necessity;
c) persons with neutral identity cards and/or neutral travel documents issued to them.
5. Persons under paragraph (4)(a-b) of this article shall be obliged, before entering the occupied territories from prohibited directions, to notify the Government of Georgia of the time of entry and time of exit from the occupied territories; and, if notification before the entry is impossible, they shall be obliged to notify the Government of Georgia of the time of entry and time of exit within a reasonable time after the entry. The persons under paragraph (4)(b) of this article shall also be obliged to submit information on the assistance they provided to the population.
Article 5 - Title to real property in the occupied territories
1. Any transaction regarding real property that is concluded within the occupied territories in violation of the legislation of Georgia shall be deemed void from the time of its conclusion and shall have no legal implications.
2. The right of property within the occupied territories shall be protected and shall be regulated under the legislation of Georgia.
Article 6 - Restriction of economic activity in the occupied territories
1. The following activities shall be prohibited in the occupied territories:
a) any economic (entrepreneurial or non-entrepreneurial) activity, irrespective of whether it is carried out to gain profit, income or compensation, if an appropriate licence or a permit, authorisation or registration is required to conduct this activity under the Laws of Georgia on Licences and Permits, on Entrepreneurs, on Museums, on Water, on Public Registry, and on Electronic Communications, as well as under the Maritime Code of Georgia, or the Civil Code of Georgia; or, if such an activity, according to the legislation of Georgia, needs to be coordinated, in the absence thereof;
b) bringing in and/or taking out military and dual-purpose products;
c) international air and maritime traffic, except as provided for in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982;
c¹) railway and international overland traffic;
d) the use of public resources;
e) the arrangement of money transfers;
f) financing or otherwise facilitating the activities provided for in sub-paragraphs (a-e) of this paragraph.
2. Activities prohibited under the first paragraph of this article may only be carried out in the occupied territories in a particular case with a special consent to be given under procedures determined by a legal act of the Government of Georgia, if this serves the state interests of Georgia, purposes of peaceful settlement of the conflict, de-occupation, restoration of confidence between the populations affected by war, or humanitarian purposes.
3. Violation of the requirements of this article shall entail liability under the legislation of Georgia.
4. Sanctions determined by the legislation of Georgia for conducting activities under the first paragraph of this article in the occupied territories shall also apply to related persons, i.e. persons who, directly or indirectly, participate in the capital of persons conducting activities under the first paragraph of this article, and/or have any form of influence on the decisions made by them.
5. For the purpose of the fourth paragraph of this article, a related person shall be:
a) a person who has equity or more than five per cent of shares in a person conducting an activity under the first paragraph of this article;
b) a person who has equity or more than twenty five per cent of shares in a person defined in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph;
c) a person who has equity or more than fifty per cent of shares in a person defined in sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph.
6. The prohibition under the first paragraph of this article and liability under the third and fourth paragraphs of this article shall not apply to the persons who provide urgent humanitarian assistance in the occupied territories to ensure the rights of people to life, in particular to provide the population with food, medicines, and articles of daily necessity.
7. Persons under the sixth paragraph of this article shall be obliged, before conducting the activity defined in the sixth paragraph of this article in the occupied territories, to notify the Government of Georgia of the start time and end time of a respective activity to be conducted/conducted in the occupied territories; and if notification before conducting the activity is not possible, they shall be obliged to notify the Government of Georgia of the start time and end time within a reasonable time after the activity has been conducted. They shall also be obliged to submit information on the assistance they provided to the population.