If the prison staff, the Special Penitentiary Service or other authorities have violated your human rights, you may ask for the harm done to you to be remedied.
To obtain a remedy for a violation of your rights, you first need to:
- establish that there was a violation of your rights
- claim compensation
Learn more about:
If you believe that prison staff or the Special Penitentiary Service have violated your rights and wish to receive compensation, you should write an application. According to the Georgian law, there are different ways to complain. For example, if you believe that your rights were violated by the prison staff you can complain about that to the head of the prison. If you claim violation of your right by the head of the prison, you can submit an application to the General director of the Special Penitentiary Service. If your claim addresses the Special Penitentiary Service as an institution you can claim to the court. You can submit the application for compensation to the court according to the civil/administration procedures. Read more about the general complaints procedure. You can also submit the claim after the respective authorities have established that your rights have been violated.
When the head of the prison or General director of the Special Penitentiary Service examines your application, it will usually determine whether your rights have been violated. If you want to claim compensation you should submit the application to the court.
In some situations, other institutions like the Public Defender (Ombudsman) Office, can establish that your rights have been violated. In that case you can ask for compensation from the Special Penitentiary Service by appealing to the court. In your application you must explain which institution has established that your rights were violated.
The decision of the head of the prison can be appealed with the General director of the Service, while the decision of the General director can be appealed with the Minister of Justice. You always have a right to submit your application to the Public defender (Ombudsman) Office/Special Prevention Group, to the Special Investigation Service or to the court.
Compensation within a criminal proceedings
If you are recognized as a victim in criminal proceedings, you can ask for compensation Read more about compensation for victims of crime.
Remember that there are several types of remedies that you may receive. Depending on the gravity of the violation, it can be remedied by:
- a public or written apology
- reversal of the harm done to you
- a certain amount of money
The Civil Procedure Code of Georgia explains the complaint procedure.
If you want to receive a certain amount of money, you must explain why you are asking for that specific amount of money.