Chapter Six – Judiciary and Prosecutor's Office
Article 62 – Judicial proceedings
Court judgments may be annulled, changed or suspended only by court, in accordance with the procedures established by law. Other procedures for releasing from a sentence and commuting the unserved part of a sentence shall be determined by law.
Article 310 – Grounds for reviewing a judgment due to newly revealed circumstances
A judgment shall be reviewed due to newly revealed circumstances if:
a) a court judgment that has entered into force has established that the evidence on which the judgment to be reviewed was based is false;
b) there exists a circumstance that proves the illegal composition of the court that rendered the final judgment, or the inadmissibility of the evidence on which the judgment subject to review was based;
c) under a final court judgment it has been established that the judge, the prosecutor, a juror or any other person in relation to a juror has committed a crime with respect to that case;
d) there exists a decision of the Constitutional Court of Georgia that has found that a criminal law applied in the case is unconstitutional;
e) there exists an effective decision (judgment) of the European Court of Human Rights that has established that the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, or the Protocols to the Convention, has been violated with respect to that case, and the judgment subject to review was based on that violation;
e1) there is a decision of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Committee against Torture or the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (‘the Committee’) that has established that the Convention, on the basis of which the Committee was found, has been violated with respect to that case, and the judgment subject to review was based on that violation;
f) a new law annuls or mitigates the criminal liability for the act for the commission of which a person was convicted under the judgment subject to review;
g) a new fact or evidence has been provided that was unknown when a judgment subject to review was rendered, and that, separately or along with any other established circumstance, confirms the innocence of the convicted person, or the commission of a crime that is less or more serious than the crime for the commission of which he/she has been convicted, and also proves the guilt of the acquitted person, or the commission of a crime by the person against whom a criminal prosecution was terminated;
g1) a decree of a prosecutor has been provided concerning substantial violation of the rights of the convicted person while processing the criminal case, that was unknown when a judgment subject to review was rendered, and that, separately and/or along with any other established circumstance, confirms the innocence of the convicted person, or the commission of a crime that is less serious than the crime for the commission of which he/she has been convicted;
h) there is a ruling of a court of appeal which established that the covert investigative action that led to the collection of the evidence that served as grounds for the judgment was illegal.
Article 314 – Court session held due to newly revealed circumstances. Judgment
1. A hearing on the merits shall be held in a court of appeal according to the norms applicable during hearings on the merits. A court of appeal may review a case without an oral hearing.
2. After hearing the case on the merits, the court shall either uphold the judgment, or alter or annul it, and enter a new judgment.
3. A cassation appeal against a judgment of a court of appeal shall be filed in the manner prescribed by this Code.
4. The court of cassation shall review an appeal in the manner prescribed by this Code, without examining its admissibility.
1. The convicted person or, after death, spouses, children, parents or one person alive at the time of the accused's death who has been given express written instructions from the accused to bring such a claim, or the Prosecutor on the person's behalf, may apply to the Appeals Chamber to revise the final judgement of conviction or sentence on the grounds that:
(a) New evidence has been discovered that:
(i) Was not available at the time of trial, and such unavailability was not wholly or partially attributable to the party making application; and
(ii) Is sufficiently important that had it been proved at trial it would have been likely to have resulted in a different verdict;
(b) It has been newly discovered that decisive evidence, taken into account at trial and upon which the conviction depends, was false, forged or falsified;
(c) One or more of the judges who participated in conviction or confirmation of the charges has committed, in that case, an act of serious misconduct or serious breach of duty of sufficient gravity to justify the removal of that judge or those judges from office under article 46.
2. The Appeals Chamber shall reject the application if it considers it to be unfounded. If it determines that the application is meritorious, it may, as appropriate:
(a) Reconvene the original Trial Chamber;
(b) Constitute a new Trial Chamber; or
(c) Retain jurisdiction over the matter, with a view to, after hearing the parties in the manner set forth in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, arriving at a determination on whether the judgement should be revised.