Has the limitation period on a debt expired?: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Period: contractual claims have a 3-year limitation period (6 years for real estate) (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 129). Periodic payments also have 3 years (same article). A contract term setting a different period is void: limitation periods cannot be changed by agreement of the parties (Civil Code, Art. 146).
2. Start: the period runs from when the creditor learned or should have learned of the breach (Civil Code, Art. 130). For a loan, it runs separately for each overdue payment. For a receipt, it runs from the day the money was due. If the claim depends on a demand by the creditor, it runs from when the creditor could have made that demand (Civil Code, Art. 131).
3. Interruption resets the period: acknowledgement of the debt by the debtor (partial payment, interest, guarantee, letter) interrupts the limitation period (Civil Code, Art. 137), and after an interruption the period starts again (Civil Code, Art. 141). Payments made after expiry are not refundable (Civil Code, Art. 144).
4. Claim: a lawsuit, a filing with a court or state body, or an enforcement action interrupts the limitation period (Civil Code, Art. 138). If a claim is withdrawn or left without consideration, the interruption is preserved provided a new claim is filed within 6 months (Civil Code, Art. 140). If the period is about to expire, file the claim immediately.
5. Consequences: once the period has expired, the debtor may refuse to pay; this is its objection (Civil Code, Art. 144). Interest and penalties expire together with the principal (Civil Code, Art. 145). The debtor must raise limitation in its response to the claim. The response (შესაგებელი) is due within the court's deadline, no more than 14 days, or 21 days for complex cases (Civil Procedure Code, Art. 201).
6. Other periods: the general limitation period is 10 years (Civil Code, Art. 128). A tort (delict) has a 3-year period (Civil Code, Art. 1008). Defects in contract work have a 1-year period, and structures 5 years from acceptance (Civil Code, Art. 655). A claim under a judgment that has entered into force has a 10-year period (Civil Code, Art. 142). The law may set other periods (Civil Code, Art. 129). Bank deposits are not subject to limitation (Civil Code, Art. 128). Suspension: a moratorium, force majeure or private mediation stops the period from running (Civil Code, Art. 132). If this happens in the last 6 months of the period, the period is then extended to 6 months (Civil Code, Art. 136).
7. Where to apply: court or magistrate court (limitation is raised in the response to the claim).
8. Evidence: contract or receipt with the repayment date, payment schedule and statements of the last payment, correspondence acknowledging the debt, date of filing the claim.
9. Pitfalls: presenting the Russian general period as the Georgian one; counting from the loan's disbursement rather than from the default; a token payment or 'I'll pay back later' restarts the period; expecting the court to apply limitation on its own.

Be sure to check

• applicable period: contractual or periodic, tort, general, or under a court judgment
• start: from default (when the breach became known), separately for each payment
• interruption by acknowledgement, partial payment or a claim; the period starts again
• limitation must be raised in the response to the claim; amounts paid after expiry are not refundable
• parties cannot change limitation periods by agreement