The activities of the Legal Aid Service include defense of the rights of individuals in cases of non-voluntary psychiatric treatment.

The Legal Aid Service offers free legal counselling to patients in cases of non-voluntary psychiatric treatment. They are entitled to both person-to-person and telephone/online consultation services. The Legal Aid Service provides legal assistance in a dispute over non-voluntary psychiatric treatment to an insolvent person whose case falls into the category of complex and important cases.

A patient placed in a psychiatric clinic has a right to:

• a defense lawyer’s service. The administration of a psychiatric clinic is obliged to organize a meeting between the patient and a defense lawyer in the absence of third parties except those cases when the patient’s mental health rules out such meeting;
• complain and apply to the court and other state entities;
• participate in elections;
• participate in private legal relations other than the relations for which the court assigned a guardian to the patient;  
• benefit from social protection in accordance with the Georgian legislation.

The types of psychiatric assistance are:

• Voluntary psychiatric treatment;
  • A patient is placed in a clinic for voluntary treatment based on his/her request or/and informed consent, in cases of patients under 16, based on a legal representative’s request and informed consent (a patient’s participation in decision-making is required considering his/her age and mental health state);
• Non-voluntary psychiatric treatment.
  • Non-voluntary psychiatric treatment is provided in cases when a person cannot make conscious decisions due to a mental disorder and psychiatric assistance cannot be provided without placing him/her in a clinic, also if a delay in assistance threatens a patient’s or another person’s life or/and health, or if a patient can inflict significant material damage on oneself or others.

After a person is placed in a clinic a council of psychiatrists must study the patient’s mental state and make a decision on suitability of non-voluntary hospitalization for psychiatric treatment.

If a council of psychiatrists decides that a patient needs non-voluntary clinical psychiatric assistance, the administration of a psychiatric clinic applies to the court with a request to issue an order on the patient’s hospitalization for non-voluntary psychiatric treatment.  The council’s decision has to be immediately communicated to the patient, his/her legal representative, or in the absence of such - to his/her relative; in cases of foreign nationals, the decision is communicated to a relevant diplomatic mission.

The court is obliged to consider the application and make a decision on the patient’s non-voluntary stationary psychiatric treatment. The patient has to be involved in the consideration of the case. During proceedings the patient’s interests are represented by a legal representative, in the absence of such – by a relative and a defense lawyer. If a patient does not have a lawyer, the latter is appointed at the State’s expense (mandatory defense).

In cases envisaged in the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia the court considering criminal cases is authorized to order non-voluntary psychiatric treatment. If the court establishes that the defendant was insane at the time of committing a crime, the court quits criminal prosecution against him/her based on the party’s motion. The court is also obliged to rule on non-voluntary treatment of a person based on the forensic-psychiatric evaluation if the grounds envisioned in the Law on Psychiatric Assistance are present.  The grounds are as follows:

• A person cannot make conscious decisions because of a mental disorder and he/she may not receive psychiatric treatment without being placed in a hospital;
• There is a risk that due to a mental disorder a person may inflict damage, threaten or/and behave violently in relation to oneself or/and others.

Legal Acts

• Constitution of Georgia
• Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Law of Georgia on Psychiatric Assistance
• Administrative Procedure Code of Georgia
• Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia

Scope of Service

In the course of conducting defense on civil and/or administrative cases, the lawyer of Legal Aid Service, as the rule conducts following actions:

• Reviews the information and case materials.
• Meets with the client and provides legal advice.
• Analyzes the information related to the case, ensures the collection of evidence and submission with the court for the purpose of successful conduct of the case.
• Represents the client in court.
• Drafts legal documents related to the case – motions, claims, counterclaims, motions complaints, applications.
• Informs the client an in case of necessity his/her legal representative on the course of conduct of the case.

Terms of Use of the Service