death_penalty_new.qxd 02-08-27 12:57 Page 31 GEORGIA 4.7 GEORGIA91 RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS International Instruments Signed Ratified Article 6 of the ICCPR Yes Yes Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR Yes Yes Article 37 (a) of the CRC Yes Yes Protocol No.6 to the ECHR Yes Yes Protocol No.13 to the ECHR Yes No LEGAL FRAMEWORK Status: Abolitionist (except for Abkhazia and South Ossetia) Scope: The death penalty has been abolished for crimes committed in peacetime and in wartime. However, the Constitution of Georgia still contains a provision that states that capital punishment may be envisaged for extremely serious crimes directed against a person’s life92. The provision is essentially an anachronism because the death penalty is not provided for in national legislation and Georgia is party to international instruments which prohibit the use of the death penalty. Whilst the death penalty has been abolished in Georgia, it is still retained in the internationally unrecognized separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. 91 92 This entry was written with the assistance of the OSCE Mission to Georgia. The delegation of Georgia to the OSCE did not complete our questionnaire on the death penalty. Article 15 of the Constitution of Georgia, 24 August 1995. 31