Declarations
Reservations

Articles: 2, 8, 9, 33

Reservations:

  1. In accordance with Article 2 of the Convention the Ministry of Justice shall be designated as the Central Authority in Georgia.

  2. In accordance with Paragraph 1 of Article 33 of the Convention, Georgia shall exclude the application of the provisions of Paragraph 2 of Article 4 of the Convention.

  3. Georgia shall not undertake the obligation to translate documents for the execution of a Letter of Request.

  4. Pursuant to Article 8 of the Convention, members of the judicial personnel of the requesting authority of another Contracting State may be present at the execution of a Letter of Request, in accordance with the legislation of Georgia.

  5. Fees paid to the experts and interpreters and the costs incurred as result of use of the special procedure under Paragraph 2 of Article 9 of the Convention shall be borne by the State of origin of request.

  6. In accordance with Paragraph 1 of Article 33 of the Convention, Georgia shall not apply the provisions of Articles 16, 17 and 18 of Chapter II of the Convention.
    Georgia declares that Articles 19 and 21 shall not be applicable either, since they refer to Articles 16, 17 and 18, to which the reservation was made.

  7. Georgia requests that any State of origin, making a request pursuant to Paragraph 1 of Article 26, shall reimburse the fees and costs to which this Paragraph refers.

Declarations: 

In accordance with Sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of Article 2 of the Law of Georgia on the Occupied Territories, the occupied territories of Georgia are:

(a) the territories of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia;

(b) the Tskhinvali region (the territories of the former Autonomous Region of South Ossetia).

By Resolution No 1633 of 2008, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe confirmed the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders. In accordance with this Resolution, the Assembly condemns the recognition by the Russian Federation of the independence of the Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, Georgia and Abkhazia, Georgia as a violation of international law and the statutory principles of the Council of Europe. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe reaffirms the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia and calls upon the Russian Federation to withdraw its recognition of the independence of the Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, Georgia and Abkhazia, Georgia and to respect fully the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, as well as the inviolability of its frontiers.

Furthermore, the United Nations (General Assembly Resolution 11785) General Assembly also recognized the right of return of the internally displaced persons, regardless of their ethnicity, to the occupied territories of Georgia.

In this regard, Georgia states that the obligations under the present Convention shall be applied and implemented with respect to the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia when the circumstances permit and Georgia restores effective control over those territories.

Documents or requests made or issued by the illegal authorities of the Russian Federation, or officials of these illegal authorities, deployed (operating) in the occupied territories of Georgia, or by the illegitimate authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, Georgia and of the Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, Georgia, which are currently under the effective control of the Russian Federation, are null and void and have no legal effect regardless of whether they are presented directly or indirectly through the authorities of the Russian Federation.

The provisions of the Convention on the possibility of direct communication or relation shall not apply to the illegal organs of Abkhazia (Georgia) and the Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia (Georgia), remaining under the effective control of the Russian Federation. The relevant communication procedures shall be determined by the Central Authority of Georgia in Tbilisi.