Ruling of the Constitutional Court of Georgia — March 26, 2026

Author: Nikoloz Pkhaladze, Attorney at Law

Constitutional Court of Georgia

On March 26, 2026, the First Board of the Constitutional Court of Georgia delivered an important decision in the case "Shorena Tsiklauri v. Minister of Justice of Georgia". The Court declared invalid the provision of the rules for conducting forced auctions that determined the starting price of property at a repeated auction. The provision becomes invalid as of July 1, 2026.

What the Disputed Provision Provided

Under the disputed provision, at the second repeated auction, the starting price of property constituted only 5% of the market value specified in the appraisal act. This meant that if property could not be sold at initial auctions, its starting price at repeated bidding was many times lower than its actual market value.

Reasoning of the Constitutional Court

The Court established that the disputed regulation did not contain a requirement to account for existing transitional rights on the property when determining its market value. The absence of such a guarantee created a risk that the sale price of the property would significantly deviate from its real value.

As a result, due to the inadequacy of the starting price, there was a high probability that the property would not be sold at all at the first and first repeated auctions. The Court held that in this case, the State failed to take reasonable measures necessary to sell the property at an adequate price.

Legal Basis

The Constitutional Court concluded that the disputed act contained a provision of the same content that had already been declared unconstitutional by Decision No. 2/2/867 of May 28, 2019. For this reason, the claim was not admitted for consideration on the merits; however, the provision was declared invalid as having identical content to a matter already adjudicated.

The decision is based on Article 19 of the Constitution of Georgia, which recognizes and protects the right to property.

What This Means in Practice

  • The starting price of property at auction must correspond to its real market value;
  • When determining the price, existing rights on the property must be taken into account;
  • The rights of debtors and property owners are better protected against low-priced forced sales.

Main Conclusion: The sale price of property must reflect its real value. The State is obliged to protect citizens' property rights during forced auction proceedings and ensure a fair determination of the price.

This article is prepared for informational and educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice for a specific case. To assess your situation, consult an attorney.

Nikoloz Pkhaladze | Law Firm "Pkhaladze & Partners"

☎ +995 597 117 795 · 🌐 www.pkhaladze-law.ge · ✉ nikushapkhaladzelawyer@gmail.com