The Legal Affairs Committee, under an accelerated procedure, reviewed the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code in the I reading and supported the draft law.

As explained by the reporter, First Deputy Chair of the Committee, Tornike Cheishvili, the preparation of the draft law is based on the implementation of the decision of the Constitutional Court of Georgia dated 12 July 2024. Specifically, following a submission by the Telavi District Court, the Constitutional Court found unconstitutional—contrary to Article 21, paragraphs 1 and 3 of the Constitution of Georgia—the normative content of Article 191, paragraph 3 of the Criminal Procedure Code, insofar as it blanketly allowed the continuation of criminal proceedings and the issuance of a conviction against a person who was criminally responsible at the time of committing the offence, but became insane after the initiation of criminal prosecution.

The Criminal Procedure Code will introduce a new legal term — “procedurally incapacitated”; if, after committing a crime, the accused becomes procedurally incapacitated, the substantive hearing of the case shall be suspended or shall not commence for the purpose of medical treatment, based on a motion by a party, for a maximum period of three months; after the expiration of the three-month period, the proceedings shall resume; the court shall render a conviction or acquittal in accordance with the procedures currently in force; if pre-trial detention has been imposed as a preventive measure, the period of detention shall not be suspended during the accused’s stay in a medical institution when the motion is initiated by the prosecution; however, if the motion is initiated by the defence, the detention period shall be suspended.

The authors and initiators of the draft law are Members of Parliament Archil Gorduladze, Tornike Cheishvili, Aleksandre Tabatadze, Davit Matikashvili, Rati Ionatamishvili, Aluda Gudushauri, Tengiz Sharmanashvili, Guram Macharashvili, and Akaki Aladashvili.