Administrative detention: your rights at the police station: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Deadlines first: bringing a person to the police to draw up a protocol is already administrative detention (CAO, Art. 243); a detained person must be taken to court as soon as possible, and no later than 24 hours (CAO, Art. 247); the period may be extended once, by no more than 24 hours, to collect evidence, with a written justification (CAO, Art. 247); if the person is not brought to court within this period, they must be released immediately (CAO, Art. 247). Record the exact time of the actual detention, not the time the paperwork was completed.
2. Rights: they must be explained immediately upon detention: the offence and its grounds, the right to a lawyer and the right to notify relatives (CAO, Art. 245); at the detainee's request, the detention and place of custody are reported to a relative they name, and to their workplace or school (CAO, Art. 245); a parent must be notified without fail when a minor is detained (CAO, Art. 245); if the offence may lead to arrest, a person who cannot pay is entitled to a lawyer at the State's expense (CAO, Art. 255); the police must provide first urgent medical aid (Law on Police, Art. 17). Statements made by the detainee BEFORE their rights are explained are inadmissible as evidence (CAO, Art. 245), so say nothing until the rights are explained and a lawyer is present.
3. Procedure: a detention protocol must be drawn up stating the time and the grounds; a refusal to sign is recorded in the protocol (CAO, Art. 245), so write down your objections and ask for a copy; a personal search may be carried out only by a person of the same sex and must be recorded in the protocol (CAO, Art. 248); detention is permitted only in cases expressly provided for by law, and only when other measures have been exhausted (CAO, Art. 244).
4. Complaint against detention: the detention and the search are appealed to a superior body (official) or to the prosecutor (CAO, Art. 251). If the case goes to court, the time of detention is credited toward the administrative arrest term (CAO, Art. 309); at the court hearing a separate set of rights applies (case file, witnesses, interpreter).
5. Where to apply: the superior police body or the prosecutor, for a complaint about the detention or search; the Legal Aid Service, for a lawyer at the State's expense.
6. Evidence: the time and place of detention (video, witnesses, geolocation), a copy of the detention and search protocol; medical records of injuries, photos.
7. Pitfalls: administrative and criminal detention are not the same: different codes and different time limits; signing the protocol without writing your own remarks; explanations given before rights are explained will later be used against the person.

Be sure to check

• brought to court no later than 24 hours; one extension of up to 24 hours; otherwise immediate release
• rights that must be explained at once (grounds, lawyer, notifying a relative)
• statements made before rights are explained are inadmissible; refusals and objections are recorded in the protocol
• complaint about detention goes to a superior body or the prosecutor; free lawyer if arrest is threatened