On 6 September 2014, the Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, Kakha Kaladze, responded to the increasing number of murders in the country and stated: “It is very important to tighten the law on the purchase, storage and possession of arms. There have already been multiple facts of detaining people who carry arms and then releasing them based on a plea bargain.”

took interest in the accuracy of Mr Kaladze’s statement.

There are three types of arms according to the Law of Georgia on Arms: 1) civil arms, 2) service arms and 3) military arms. The owners of civil arms are those persons using the arms for defence, hunting, sports and/or collection means. Service arms are assigned specially and legally to certain persons for their work/employment duties. Military arms are assigned to military personnel and their equivalents for providing state defence and security and engaging in combat and operational-investigative means. The purchase, storage, possession, production, transportation, transfer and use of each of them is subject to special permission issued by the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. The storage, possession, production, transportation, transfer and use is punishable by Article 236 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. The first part of Article 236 refers to the illegal purchase and storage of arms, the second part of the Article refers to illegal possession and the third part encompasses the consequences from the illegal production, transportation, transfer and use of arms. In addition, there is a fourth part of the same Article which includes aggravating circumstances such as the production of arms, transportation, transfer or use based upon a tentative agreement by a group or with these actions having occurred multiple times.

addressed the Supreme Court of Georgia with a request for the number of cases with decisions based on Article 236 of the Criminal Code of Georgia in the courts of the first instance in the period 2011-2014. According to the information provided, the percentage of plea bargains among 710 cases reviewed based on Article 236 of the Criminal Code of Georgia in 2011 was 89%. The same rate in 2012 was also 89%. It was 90% in 2013 and 72% in the first nine months of 2014.

The Vice Prime Minister was referring to the facts of “carrying” arms which implies the illegal possession of arms. A person may become liable for the illegal possession of arms based upon the second part of Article 236 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. The percentage of plea bargaining for the illegal possession of arms was 86% in 2011, 81% in 2012, 89% in 2013 and 70% in the first nine months of 2014.

The illegal purchase, storage, possession, production, transportation, transfer and use of firearms is a crime envisaged by Article 236 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. In 2011, 89% of the cases reviewed by the courts of first instance based upon this Article ended with plea bargains. In 2012, the rate was 89%, in 2013 it was 90% and in the first nine months of 2014 it was 72%.

Mr Kaladze’s statement concerned the illegal possession of arms, in particular. In 2011, 86% of the cases with an illegal possession verdict ended with plea bargains; in 2012, the rate was 81%, in 2013 it was 89% and in 2014 it was 70%. It is clear that the rate of plea bargaining with the accused for the illegal possession of arms decreased in 2014. Nevertheless, the numbers recorded in the last four years show that those who are accused in accordance with Article 236 are mostly offered a plea bargain.