A person suspected of having committed a criminal offence may be arrested. However, the arrest has to be carried out lawfully and respecting human rights.
If the police suspect that you have committed an offence, you may be arrested. The term of arrest shall not exceed a maximum of 72 hours. Not later than 48 hours after the arrest an authorized person shall give you an indictment. If an indictment is not given to you within this period, you shall be immediately released.
Additionally, a person may be also arrested to prevent administrative offense, only when other sanctions have been exhausted. The grounds for administrative arrest are explained in the Administrative Offense Code of Georgia.
When arresting for the administrative offense you shall be presented to the court at the first opportunity but no later than 24 hours. In some circumstances this term may be extended for another 24 hours. If you are not presented to the court within this hour, you should be immediately released.
You can read more about the exact grounds of arrest in the Criminal Procedure Code.
Arrest deprives people of their liberty and may cause them to feel particularly helpless and vulnerable. Therefore, the police should not arrest people frivolously and without a lawful reason.
About this Guide
This Guide will explain situations in which you may be arrested and how, the basic rights you have when arrested, where you will stay and how you must be treated, and what should happen regarding your release. It will also explain how you can complain about issues related to your arrest. However, not every restriction of your physical liberty will be considered to be an arrest. Read more below.
It is important to note that not every restriction of your physical liberty will be considered an arrest. For example, you are not considered to have been arrested or detained every time you are in a police office. Sometimes you may be invited to help in an investigation and to answer questions, but you can freely leave when you have complied with your lawful duties to cooperate in criminal process.
Each situation can be very different and therefore, human rights give you some criteria for how to assess whether you really are under arrest. These are: the manner in which you are arrested, the place where you are held, and how long you are held. For example, if you were brought in forcefully, put in a restricted or even isolated area which you can’t leave and which is heavily supervised by the police, it will most likely be considered to be an arrest. The arrest may also result from a situation where you came to the police station freely and voluntarily. Therefore, it is always important to ask whether you can freely leave.