Client won't pay a freelancer or sole trader for services: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Is there a contract? A contract may be oral: written form is required only by law or by agreement of the parties (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 69). A contract for work (ნარდობა) means the contractor performs the work and the client must pay the agreed remuneration (Civil Code, Art. 629). Remuneration is considered agreed even without words; if no amount was specified, the tariff or the usual price applies (Civil Code, Art. 630). Evidence: correspondence with the brief and price, invoice, links to the delivered work, paid instalments.
2. When to pay: payment is due after the work is performed, unless instalments were agreed (Civil Code, Art. 648). The client must accept the work and pay on acceptance. Work is deemed accepted if the client does not accept it within the period set by the contractor (Civil Code, Art. 649). So send the result in writing and set an acceptance deadline.
3. Quality claims: for defects, the client may demand rework. The contractor chooses whether to fix the work or redo it (Civil Code, Art. 642). A defect gives only a right to a price reduction by the amount it lowers the value, not a right to refuse payment altogether (Civil Code, Art. 645). If the client accepted work with a known defect without a claim, it has no further claims over that defect (Civil Code, Art. 652). Withdrawal mid-project: the client may withdraw before completion, but must pay for the work performed and the losses (Civil Code, Art. 636).
4. Beyond the debt: interest for late payment is at the rate agreed by the parties (Civil Code, Art. 403). A penalty is valid only if agreed in writing (Civil Code, Art. 418).
5. Recovery: a documented overdue monetary debt may be pursued through simplified proceedings at NBE, without a court (Law on Enforcement Proceedings, Art. 91³). This is not possible if the claim depends on an unperformed counter-obligation, such as work not yet delivered (same law, Art. 91²). Within 10 calendar days the debtor must pay, acknowledge the debt or lodge an objection; an objection goes to court (same law, Art. 91⁷). For a dispute, a claim up to GEL 5,000 goes to the magistrate court (Civil Procedure Code, Art. 14). An electronic document with an electronic signature has evidentiary force (Civil Procedure Code, Art. 134). The limitation period for a contract is 3 years (Civil Code, Art. 129).
6. Where to apply: National Bureau of Enforcement (simplified proceedings); magistrate court or district (city) court.
7. Evidence: correspondence (brief, agreed price, 'thanks, we got everything'), invoice, acceptance act, links or files of the delivered work with dates, statements of partial payments.
8. Pitfalls: believing that nothing can be recovered without a signed contract; not setting the client an acceptance deadline, since silent acceptance will not arise; demanding 'statutory penalties' without a written agreement, as there are none; using NBE simplified proceedings while the work has not yet been delivered.

Be sure to check

• an agreement made by correspondence is valid; remuneration may be agreed without an explicit price
• payment after performance or on acceptance; silent acceptance after the deadline set by the contractor
• defects: rework or price reduction, not refusal of payment; if the client withdraws, payment for the work performed
• interest only by agreement; penalty only in writing
• NBE simplified proceedings (10 days to respond) or magistrate court or court; 3-year limitation period