67 terms · 8 topics
Legal glossary - the terms a lawyer uses and you do not ask about
Every second consultation ends with the client not understanding three terms and not asking. This glossary exists for exactly those words - the ones you will read in a court ruling, a lawyer's letter, a registry extract and an agency's reply, and to which the answer should be a single sentence.
The terms are grouped into eight topics by situation, not alphabetically - the way they occur in life. Each definition links to the practice area or tool page where the term is seen in action. Search with the field above, or Ctrl+F on the page.
Court procedure
Words common to any dispute - civil, administrative or criminal.
- Claim (statement of claim)
- A written demand to the court with which a dispute begins: who demands what, from whom and on what basis. The claim is filed with the court fee, the evidence and a copy for the defendant.
Civil litigation lawyer → - Statement of defence
- The defendant's written reply to the claim within the set period - what they admit, what they deny and with what evidence. Failing to file one may lead the court to treat the facts of the claim as admitted.
- Counterclaim
- The defendant's own demand against the claimant in the same case - both are heard together. A separate fee and the same formal requirements as an ordinary claim.
- State duty (court fee)
- The sum paid to the treasury when applying to the court - a percentage of the claim value with a minimum and maximum, by instance. If you win, it is charged to the losing party.
Court fee calculator → - Interim measures
- A temporary court measure before the case is heard - attachment of an account or property, a prohibition on an action - so that enforcement of the judgment remains possible. Requested with the claim and decided within days.
- Burden of proof
- The rule that says who must prove a fact: usually the party asserting it. In some cases the law shifts the burden - to the employer in a labour dispute, to the respondent in a discrimination case.
- Appeal
- Challenging a first-instance judgment in the Court of Appeals, which reconsiders the case on both facts and law. In civil cases the deadline is 14 days from service of the reasoned judgment.
Deadline calculator → - Cassation
- Challenging an appellate judgment in the Supreme Court only on the ground of a legal error - the facts are no longer reviewed. The appeal first passes an admissibility filter; the Supreme Court's decision is final.
- Interlocutory complaint
- A complaint against a ruling - an interim decision of the court (interim measures, a stay, refusal to restore a deadline), not the final judgment. The shortest deadline: 12 days.
- Enforcement
- Compulsory execution of a judgment in force through the National Bureau of Enforcement: debiting accounts, deductions from salary, auction of property. It starts with a writ of execution.
- Limitation period
- The period after which a claim will no longer be upheld by a court if the defendant raises it - 3 years as a general rule, different for particular claims. The court does not apply it on its own; the debtor's acknowledgement of the debt restarts it.
- Mediation
- Resolving a dispute with the help of a neutral mediator outside court or alongside it. An agreement, if approved by the court, has the force of a judgment. In some cases it is a mandatory precondition.
- Arbitration
- A private "court" that the parties choose by contract - the award is binding and the state court enforces it. Common in business contracts; an arbitration clause in a contract deserves careful reading.
Corporate lawyer →
Criminal law
- Detention
- A short-term restriction of liberty without a court order on suspicion of a crime. Within 48 hours either charges are brought and the court decides on a preventive measure, or the person is released.
What to do when detained → - Accused
- A person against whom the prosecutor has formally brought charges. The accused has full rights - a lawyer, silence, access to the evidence - and is presumed innocent until the verdict takes effect.
Criminal defence lawyer → - Preventive measure
- A restriction set by the court for the accused until the case is heard: custody, bail, an undertaking not to leave, personal surety. The prosecutor requests it, the lawyer contests it, the court decides.
- Bail
- Money or real estate placed at the court's disposal in exchange for the accused's liberty - forfeited to the treasury on breach of conditions, returned on compliance. The amount is set by the court above the statutory minimum.
- Plea agreement
- An agreement between the accused and the prosecutor on admitting guilt or cooperating in exchange for a lighter sentence, approved by the court. The verdict is practically unappealable afterwards - signing without a lawyer is out of the question.
- Victim
- A person harmed by a crime. They have the right to access the case file, claim damages and give an opinion on a plea agreement - though they cannot block it.
- Investigation
- The stage of gathering the facts of a crime before charges and after, up to trial - led by the investigator and the prosecutor. An "interview" as a witness is often part of this stage, and being accompanied by a lawyer is a right there too.
- Criminal record
- The legal status from the verdict taking effect until the record is expunged or lifted - it affects employment, visas and any later sentence. The expiry period depends on the severity of the sentence; early lifting is by court.
Contracts and debt
- Deposit (earnest money)
- A sum paid in advance as confirmation of a future contract. If the buyer withdraws it stays with the seller; if the seller withdraws it is returned double - provided it is in writing. That is how it differs from an advance.
Real estate lawyer → - Penalty (liquidated damages)
- A sum or percentage fixed in advance in the contract for breach of an obligation - claimable without proving loss. The court may reduce a manifestly excessive penalty.
- Nullity (voidness)
- A transaction having no legal force from the outset - because of a breach of law, sham, duress or incapacity. What was received under a void transaction is returned; declaring nullity often requires a court.
- Payment order
- Simplified court proceedings on an undisputed monetary claim without a hearing and at a reduced fee - if the debtor does not object, the order becomes an enforceable document. The fastest route for a documented debt.
How to recover a debt → - Joint and several liability
- Several debtors answer for one debt so that the creditor can demand the full amount from any of them - for example a guarantor and a borrower. Whoever paid claims the others' shares.
Banking and finance lawyer → - Guarantee (suretyship)
- A third party's obligation to pay the creditor if the debtor does not. A guarantor is often liable jointly and severally - the bank can claim directly from them. An obligation to think through before signing.
- Restructuring
- Changing the terms of a loan by agreement - extending the term, deferral, reducing interest - when the debtor can no longer pay. Banks treat it as an alternative to court; it starts with a written request.
- Escrow
- Temporarily placing money with a third party (a bank, a notary) who releases it to the recipient only after a condition is met - for example registration in the registry. The standard for protecting both sides in a property transaction.
Property
- Registry extract
- The official Public Registry document on a property: owner, area, cadastral code and every entry restricting the right. Online, within minutes; only an extract obtained on the day of the transaction is reliable.
Checking a flat before buying → - Attachment (lien)
- A prohibition on disposing of property - imposed by a court, the Enforcement Bureau or the tax authority - which is visible in the registry. Attached property cannot be sold, gifted or encumbered until the attachment is lifted.
- Mortgage
- An obligation secured by real estate: on non-payment the creditor satisfies the claim from the sale of the property. It is registered in the registry and follows the property when the owner changes.
- Easement
- A limited right to use someone else's property - a passage, a pipeline, a road - which follows the property regardless of the owner. Visible in the registry and affects the price.
- Co-ownership
- One property owned by several people - in shares (each with their own share) or jointly (spouses). When a share is sold, the other co-owner has a right of first refusal.
Real estate lawyer → - Legalisation (of property)
- Recognition of unregistered or unpermitted construction as lawful property - through the municipal commission and the registry. In the regions most inheritance cases begin with it.
- Commissioning
- The act by which the municipality confirms that a building was completed in accordance with the project and the permit. Without it a building is legally unfinished - utilities, mortgages and resale are problematic.
- Usufruct
- The right to use someone else's property and take its income without owning it - often in favour of an elderly parent when a flat is transferred to a child. Registered in the registry and limits the owner's right to dispose.
Family and inheritance
- Maintenance (alimony)
- A regular sum for the support of a minor child (or an incapacitated parent or spouse) - by agreement or by court, as a fixed sum or a share of income. The claim is filed without a court fee.
Divorce step by step → - Marital agreement
- A notarised agreement between spouses on the property regime - what is joint, what is personal, what happens on divorce. Concluded before or during the marriage; it cannot regulate matters of children and maintenance.
Family lawyer → - Guardianship and custody
- Representation of the interests of a minor or an incapacitated person by a legally appointed person - when the parents are absent or deprived of their rights. The guardianship authority and the court appoint and supervise.
- Estate
- All the property and obligations of the deceased that pass to the heirs - assets and debts alike. The estate is accepted by application to a notary within 6 months of death; missing the deadline requires restoration.
Inheritance lawyer → - Will
- A person's written disposition of who is to receive what from their property - notarised, or written and signed in their own hand. A will overrides statutory succession but cannot cancel the compulsory share.
- Compulsory share
- The part of the estate that belongs, regardless of the will, to an incapacitated or minor child, a spouse or a parent - half of the statutory share. A will cannot take it away.
- Statutory heir
- A person who inherits in order of priority when there is no will: the first order - children, spouse, parents; in their absence - the next orders. Heirs of one order share equally.
- Certificate of inheritance
- A document issued by a notary confirming who received the estate and in what share. With it the property is registered to the heir in the registry; without it the estate cannot be disposed of.
Employment
- Employment contract
- An agreement between employer and employee on the work, pay and conditions - in writing if the relationship exceeds 1 month. An employment relationship exists and is protected by law even without a contract.
Employment lawyer → - Probation period
- A period of at most 6 months during which the employer may end the contract without notice or severance. It exists only when agreed in writing; an oral "probation" has no legal existence.
- Disciplinary sanction
- The employer's measure for breach of the internal regulations - a warning, a reprimand, in the extreme case dismissal. Only after requesting an explanation and for breach of a written rule; a breach of procedure voids the sanction.
- Severance pay
- The sum owed when the employer terminates on its own initiative - at least 1 month's pay with 30 days' notice or 2 months' with 3 days' notice, paid within 30 days. It does not replace wages or leave money.
Severance calculator → - Pay for forced absence
- Salary for the period an unlawfully dismissed employee did not work - from dismissal to the court's decision. The main monetary claim in an unlawful dismissal case and the employer's main risk.
Unlawful dismissal → - Overtime
- Work beyond the set hours - only with the employee's consent and at increased pay (at least 125%). A contract "without fixed hours" does not cancel overtime pay.
- Discrimination at work
- Different treatment of an employee on a protected ground - sex, age, pregnancy, ethnicity, opinion - in hiring, pay or dismissal. Once a presumption is raised, the burden of proof shifts to the employer.
Administrative law and immigration
- Individual administrative act
- An agency's decision concerning a specific person - a permit, a refusal, a fine, the grant of a status. Appealed within one month to the superior body or the court; an unreasoned act is voided.
Administrative law lawyer → - Administrative complaint
- Challenging an act at the same or the superior agency before court - a mandatory precondition in some fields. Considered within one month; a refusal is appealed to the court.
- Administrative offence
- A breach less serious than a crime - traffic, public order, trade - punished by a fine or another sanction through a report and a decision. Appeal within 10 days.
- Public information
- Information held by an agency that any person may request by application - a reply immediately or within 10 days. A refusal can be appealed; this tool is a frequent way of obtaining evidence in an administrative dispute.
- Residence permit
- A foreigner's right to live in Georgia on a specific ground and for a specific period - work, study, family, investment, permanent and others. Considered by the Agency within 30 days; the card also serves as ID.
Residence permit - a guide → - Apostille
- An international stamp on a document that makes it recognised in every Hague Convention country without legalisation. A foreign certificate, diploma or power of attorney is submitted in Georgia with an apostille and a translation.
Immigration lawyer → - Consular legalisation
- The procedure for certifying a document for countries that are not in the Hague Convention - the issuing country's authority and the Georgian consulate in turn. Longer and more expensive than an apostille.
- Power of attorney
- A notarised document by which a person authorises another to act in their place - with specific authority and a term. One issued abroad needs an apostille and a translation; it can be revoked at any time.
Remote lawyer in Georgia →
Working with a lawyer
- Attorney and legal consultant
- An attorney (advokati) is a member of the Georgian Bar Association with a certificate and the right to represent in court, protected by legal privilege. A legal consultant (iuristi) has a law degree without that status - consultations and documents yes, court no.
- Warrant (order)
- The document by which an attorney confirms representation of a client in a specific case before a court, an investigation or an agency. The attorney has it themselves; from the client only an agreement or consent is needed.
- Fee
- A lawyer's remuneration - fixed, hourly, staged or contingent on the result. The form, amount and what is included must be in writing in the agreement; court costs and the state duty are separate from the fee.
Lawyer directory → - Legal privilege
- Everything a client told or gave a lawyer within a case is protected - the lawyer cannot disclose it and cannot be examined as a witness about it. The reason to tell the whole truth at a consultation.
- Conflict of interest
- A situation where a lawyer is connected to both sides of one case or to a previous client - they cannot take such a case. "One lawyer for both" in a divorce or a transaction breaks this rule.
- Initial consultation
- The first meeting or call at which a lawyer assesses the situation and names the route and the cost - often free. It is not running the case; that begins with an agreement.
- Ranking (on this platform)
- A lawyer's score out of 100 on five measurable criteria - experience, verified reviews, transparency, focus, response time - independent of any paid plan. The methodology is public and changes by version.
Rating methodology →
Questions about the glossary
Are the definitions the exact text of the law?
No - they convey the meaning of the law in the language of a consultation, not as a quotation. The exact wording, exceptions and deadlines in a specific case are checked against the code and with a lawyer. The glossary exists so that you can ask the lawyer the right question.
Can I link directly to a term from another page?
Yes - every term has its own anchor (for example /en/leksikoni/#yadaga), which jumps to the term on the page and highlights it. The practice area pages and guides use these links.
I could not find a term. Where do I ask?
The search field also searches the text of the definitions, not only the headings - try a synonym. If it is still missing, write to us or ask the coordinator on a call: a frequently requested term is added to the glossary within a week.
Why are the terms not in alphabetical order?
Because a term rarely appears alone - "attachment" comes up with "mortgage" and "extract" when buying a flat, "appeal" with "cassation" at the end of a case. Thematic grouping also shows you the neighbouring terms you will soon need.
You understand the term - now what does it mean in your case?
At a free consultation a lawyer will identify the glossary's words in your documents and tell you which of them work in your favour - within 15 minutes the coordinator will contact you.