Extradition Lawyer in Tbilisi: Tbilisi City Court and the Local Procedure
For a case assigned to Tbilisi City Court, the court and the prosecutor named in the file are the main local contacts. The initial restraint decision is made by a magistrate judge according to the place of arrest. Published Supreme Court records show later proceedings in Tbilisi City Court after initial orders elsewhere, but those are individual cases: Article 34 does not establish Tbilisi City Court as the exclusive forum. Check the notice and any transfer order before travelling or calculating the next deadline.
This page explains the Tbilisi court path, local access and preparation. For the nationwide procedure, see Extradition from Georgia; refusal grounds and detailed remedies belong on How to Stop Extradition from Georgia.
Which Tbilisi institution handles each stage?
Published decisions show Tbilisi City Court’s Investigative and Pre-Trial Hearing Panel handling later extradition-permissibility proceedings. Separately, Article 30(3) sends the initial restraint application to a magistrate judge at the place of arrest; cassation on permissibility goes to the Supreme Court’s Criminal Chamber.
| Institution | Role and practical point |
|---|---|
| Tbilisi City Court, Investigative and Pre-Trial Hearing Panel | Handles later permissibility proceedings in published cases. Address: David Aghmashenebeli Alley 64, Tbilisi. Check the summons and case listing before travelling. |
| Magistrate judge at the place of arrest | Decides the initial restraint measure. An airport or Tbilisi arrest points to the local magistrate judge; an arrest elsewhere may start in another court. |
| Tbilisi Court of Appeals, Investigative Panel | Hears appeals from initial restraint decisions within its jurisdiction. Its structure also lists a Chamber for Criminal Cases. Extensions or changes may follow separate procedural rules. |
| Supreme Court of Georgia, Criminal Chamber | Hears cassation appeals from a district/city court ruling on extradition permissibility. The deadline is seven days from pronouncement; the Georgian original uses pronouncement, while the English translation says “after it is delivered”. Record the pronouncement date and verify the calculation. |
| Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia | Coordinates the extradition file and files applications. Recent Supreme Court records identify the Prosecutor General’s Office international-relations unit in Tbilisi City Court proceedings; use the prosecutor named in the served papers as the case contact. |
The official contact page lists David Aghmashenebeli Alley 64, the common-courts information centre (1545) and press-service number +995 032 2 51 05 55 (7766). Current-case listings are updated daily and may change or be postponed; confirm the time and courtroom by case number.
What should happen in the first 72 hours after an arrest in Tbilisi?
The 72-hour plan is practical, not a separate statutory limit. Article 30(3) requires the prosecutor to apply to the place-of-arrest magistrate judge within 48 hours. This is a filing deadline, not an automatic release deadline or a merits-hearing deadline.
| Trigger | Rule | Immediate action |
|---|---|---|
| Immediately after arrest | Article 30 permits arrest on a foreign extradition request, temporary-detention request or international wanted status. An alert is not the final surrender order. | Record the time, place and agency; request the legal basis, case number, lawyer and interpreter. Do not consent to simplified extradition without advice in a language the person understands. |
| Within 48 hours of arrest | The prosecutor must file a restraint motion with the magistrate judge for the place of arrest. The judge may order extradition detention or another permitted measure. | Obtain the application and order; check identity, the alert’s legal basis and whether Article 30 information was supplied. |
| After service of the initial restraint decision | Under Article 30(5), appeal within 7 days after service; the Court of Appeals’ Investigative Panel reviews this appeal within 5 days. | Keep the decision and proof of service. Ask counsel about residence, health, family duties and alternatives to detention. Do not apply this deadline automatically to extensions or variations. |
| By 72 hours — practical checkpoint only | There is no general 72-hour deadline to complete the extradition-permissibility hearing. | Confirm custody location and assigned court; collect the foreign warrant, identity records, translations, medical evidence and support for any lawful objection. |
Article 30(6) sets an initial three-month extradition-detention period, extendable by three months for extradition-related reasons no more than twice (nine months total). Every extension requires a judicial decision. A separate, shorter clock applies to an appeal from an order extending extradition detention or changing/cancelling a measure: under Article 30(7)–(9) and Criminal Procedure Code Article 207, the appeal must be filed within 48 hours after the order, is reviewed no later than 72 hours after filing, and does not suspend enforcement. File it with the court that issued the order for forwarding to the Court of Appeals’ Investigative Panel. Do not use the seven-day period for this type of order.
Where might a person arrested in Tbilisi be held?
No single detention facility has been verified for everyone arrested in Tbilisi in an extradition case. Custody can change; confirm the current custodian with the responsible authority, prosecutor or lawyer before arranging a visit or sending documents.
If the arrest occurs at Tbilisi International Airport, the place-of-arrest rule determines which magistrate judge receives the initial Article 30 application. Airport information staff are not an extradition authority. Record the time, terminal and police unit if known.
The Tbilisi Court of Appeals’ official structure lists an Investigative Panel. The common-courts information centre is 1545. For a restraint decision made in Tbilisi, this is the relevant appeal court; cassation on extradition permissibility goes to the Supreme Court’s Criminal Chamber.
How does the Tbilisi extradition-permissibility hearing proceed?
The authorised prosecutor must provide the extradition materials to the person and explain their rights and duties. Article 34(6) requires advance notice to the defence: the Georgian text places it 10 days before the prosecutor files the court motion, although the English translation is less clear. Record both dates and have counsel verify the calculation.
Under Article 34(6²), the parties must exchange intended evidence and documents within five days after notification; material not exchanged as required cannot be used in court. Article 34(7) requires the court to set a hearing date within seven days after receiving the documents specified in paragraph 6. This period runs from court receipt, not arrest.
The court decides permissibility, not guilt of the foreign offence. Prepare identity and citizenship records, the foreign warrant or judgment, a factual summary and relevant foreign law, limitation information, any prior Georgian decision, and evidence for any rights or protection concern. Detailed refusal grounds belong in the remedies guide.
A foreign warrant or INTERPOL Red Notice does not itself decide whether extradition is permissible. If the case surfaced through a Red Notice, see the Red Notice guide; treaty applicability and refusal grounds are covered in the Georgia-wide guides linked above.
Which appeal goes to which court — and when?
| Decision | Route | Deadline and trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Initial magistrate judge’s measure-of-restraint decision under Article 30(5) | Investigative Panel/Chamber of the relevant Court of Appeals; for a Tbilisi decision, the Tbilisi Court of Appeals. | 7 days after service; review within 5 days. Extensions or variations may have a different procedure. |
| Order extending extradition detention or changing/cancelling a measure under Article 30(7)–(9) | Appeal under Criminal Procedure Code Article 207 to the Investigative Panel of the relevant Court of Appeals; file with the court that issued the order. | Within 48 hours after the order; review no later than 72 hours after filing. The appeal does not suspend enforcement. |
| District/city court ruling on extradition permissibility | Cassation appeal to the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Georgia. | 7 days from pronouncement (the Georgian original; the English translation says “after it is delivered”); the first hearing must be set within 5 days after the appeal is received. |
| Minister of Justice’s order after a positive permissibility ruling | Article 34(14) makes the Minister’s order allowing or refusing extradition final and non-appealable. | This is not an appealable court judgment. Ask urgently whether any other lawful procedure is available before implementation; do not assume a remedy or stay exists. |
The routes differ: a restraint appeal challenges a coercive measure; cassation challenges permissibility. Neither is a constitutional complaint or an ECtHR application, and neither replaces Georgian deadlines. See the ECtHR guide for that separate process.
The cited decisions illustrate procedure, not outcome. No. 7-I-26 (10 March 2026) records an initial restraint order in Zugdidi followed by Tbilisi proceedings; No. 60-I-22 (19 December 2022) records an initial order in Batumi and a later Tbilisi extension. These individual decisions do not mean every file moves to Tbilisi. Check the assigned court and any transfer order in the case notice.
What should the family and foreign lawyer prepare?
- Full name, date of birth, citizenship, passport details and spelling variations used abroad.
- Exact arrest time and place, arresting agency, restraint application and order, service date and case number.
- Foreign warrant, judgment, extradition request, factual summary and relevant laws, with certified translations if available.
- Citizenship, residence, family-duty and medical records relevant to detention or a lawful objection.
- A chronology of the foreign case: presence at trial, finality of judgment, appeals, retrial rights and limitation.
- Specific, credible evidence for any claimed risk of torture, prohibited treatment, persecution or other refusal ground.
- Questions for counsel: which order is in force, what deadline runs now, which court has the file, what was served, and whether additional foreign information is pending.
Proceedings are conducted in Georgian. Criminal Procedure Code Article 11 requires an interpreter if a participant does not sufficiently understand the language. Tell counsel the person’s language, request an interpreter on the record, and check translations of key foreign documents.
A hypothetical Tbilisi example: why the order matters
Hypothetical. A traveller is arrested at Tbilisi International Airport after an international alert. Check whether the prosecutor filed the Article 30 motion within 48 hours, which magistrate judge made the order, when it was served and whether the seven-day appeal period remains open. If the file proceeds to permissibility, confirm the assigned court and calendar the separate seven-day cassation deadline from pronouncement of its ruling.
Before consenting to simplified extradition, obtain advice in a language the person understands. Under Article 34¹(1¹), effective 1 October 2025, ongoing international-protection procedures are not considered after consent. See the remedies guide for the consequences and the available refusal grounds.
What this Tbilisi page cannot decide for you
The arrest location does not establish where every later hearing will take place. Published cases show later Tbilisi City Court proceedings, but confirm the assigned court from the notice. Treaty relations, citizenship, foreign proceedings, served documents, detention and protection claims can change the analysis; no local fact guarantees release, refusal or surrender.
Because the correct route depends on the exact order, its service date and the court assigned, a case-specific consultation can help identify the next lawful step. To request one, provide the order, proof of service and case number through the contact request page.
Questions families ask about extradition in Tbilisi
Does the 48-hour rule mean the person must be released after 48 hours?
No. Article 30(3) requires the responsible prosecutor to file a motion with the magistrate judge within 48 hours after arrest. The judge may order extradition detention or another measure of restraint. The rule is not an automatic release deadline.
Can the family appeal the extradition decision to the Tbilisi Court of Appeals?
The route depends on the decision. The initial magistrate judge’s restraint decision is appealed to the Investigative Panel/Chamber of the relevant Court of Appeals within seven days after service. A court ruling on extradition permissibility is challenged by cassation to the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court within seven days from pronouncement (the Georgian original; the English translation says “after it is delivered”). An appeal against an extension or change/cancellation follows Article 207: 48 hours after the order, with review within 72 hours after filing; enforcement is not suspended.
Is the person always held in Tbilisi?
No. Custody location is case-specific and can change. Confirm the current custodian with the responsible authority or counsel; do not assume the address of an administrative department is the detention facility.
Can a family member act as interpreter?
Do not rely on that. Georgian is the language of proceedings, and the Criminal Procedure Code provides for an interpreter when a participant has no or insufficient command of that language. Ask for the request to be recorded officially.
Official sources and case records
- Law of Georgia on International Cooperation in Criminal Matters, especially Articles 2, 18, 30, 34 and 34¹–34² (current consolidated English text; amendments include changes effective in 2025).
- Official Georgian text of the same Law, including Article 34(6) notice wording.
- Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia, Article 11 on the language of proceedings and interpreters.
- Tbilisi City Court: official contact details.
- Tbilisi City Court: current-case listings and update notice.
- Tbilisi Court of Appeals: official structure, including the Investigative Panel.
- Supreme Court of Georgia, Criminal Chamber, No. 7-I-26, 10 March 2026.
- Supreme Court of Georgia, Criminal Chamber, No. 60-I-22, 19 December 2022.