Recognising ownership through the court: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. The date of the transaction determines the route: the Civil Code applies to rights that arose from 25 November 1997 (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 1507). For transactions made before that date, first try registration in the registry without a court: unregistered pre-Code transactions can serve as the basis for registration without a court (Law of Georgia on Public Registry, Art. 35). After that date, ownership requires a written transaction plus registration; a receipt and possession do not confer ownership (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 183); the seller must transfer ownership (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 477); a receipt with signatures and the terms of the deal is a written contract.
2. Deadlines (check these first): if the seller has died, the seller's obligations form part of the estate and pass to the heirs (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 1328); a claim against the heirs who accepted the estate must be brought within 6 months from when you learned that the estate was opened (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 1488); otherwise the claim is lost (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 1488). Limitation: the limitation period for contractual claims concerning real estate is 6 years (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 129); it runs from when you learned of the breach (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 130); acknowledgment of the claim by the obligated person interrupts the limitation period (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 137).
3. Do not rely on 'adverse possession': acquisitive prescription applies only where the property is registered in the owner's name and has been possessed for 15 years (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 167). Do not file a special proceeding: the fact of possessing real estate is not on the list of facts for special proceedings (Civil Procedure Code of Georgia, Art. 312); where ownership is disputed, only a lawsuit is available (Civil Procedure Code of Georgia, Art. 311).
4. Lawsuit: an action for recognition of the right (აღიარებითი სარჩელი) (Civil Procedure Code of Georgia, Art. 180) and for registration is brought against the seller's heirs or successor (check the successor of a legal entity in the register of entrepreneurs); jurisdiction lies at the location of the property (Civil Procedure Code of Georgia, Art. 18); request an immediate prohibition on the defendant alienating the property (Civil Procedure Code of Georgia, Art. 198).
5. Where to apply: district (city) court; notary (the seller's inheritance file); Public Registry — registration on the basis of a court decision.
6. Evidence: receipt, payment records, the seller's documents for the property, witnesses, utility bills for the years of possession, the seller's death certificate.
7. Pitfalls: missing the six-month deadline to claim against the seller's heirs; hoping to become owner through 'adverse possession'; filing an application to establish the fact of possession instead of a lawsuit; suing without a prohibition on alienation.

Be sure to check

• possession and a receipt alone do not make you the owner; acquisitive prescription does not apply to an unregistered possessor
• date of the transaction (before or after the Civil Code took effect) and whether pre-Code transactions can be registered without a court
• time limits — 6 months for claims against the seller's heirs, and the 6-year limitation period: when it starts and what interrupts it
• action for recognition and registration against the heirs or successor, jurisdiction, prohibition on alienation; special proceedings do not fit
• evidence of the transaction and of payment