Criminal Defamation
No provisions.
Criminal Defamation of Public Officials
No provisions.
Criminal Defamation of the Head of State
No provisions.
Criminal Defamation of the State and its Symbols
The Georgian Criminal Code foresees the offence of Desecration of the State Coat of Arms or of the National Flag (Art. 343). The penalty is restriction of liberty for up to two years or with imprisonment for up to two years. However, this offence is interpreted as referring to physical acts only.
Criminal Defamation of Foreign Heads of State
No provisions.
Criminal Defamation of Foreign States and Symbols
No provisions.
Criminal Defamation of the Deceased
No provisions.
Criminal Blasphemy
No provisions.
Criminal Statistics
N/A
Criminal Law and Media
N/A
Recent Legal Changes
N/A
Notes and Acknowledgements
Information for Georgia was originally collected by IPI as part of a study commissioned by the Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). It is reprinted here with the permission of the OSCE.
Information on Georgia is provided with the expert assistance of Giorgi Meladze, associate professor, Ilia State University.
A fully footnoted version of this entry is available in the OSCE study. This entry was last updated in March 2017.
The information contained in this database is for informational and advocacy purposes only. If you are a journalist facing a defamation claim, you should seek legal advice from a qualified attorney. However, if you are unable to find such an attorney, IPI may be able to assist you in doing so. Please contact us at info(at)ipi.media.
News
Study: criminal defamation unduly limits media freedom
March 7th, 2017