Local Self-Government Code of Georgia (No. 1958-IIS of 2014)

This Law defines the legal grounds for exercising local self-governance, powers of local authorities, rules for their establishment and operation, regulates their finances and property, their relations with citizens, with public authorities and with entities under public or private law, and sets forth the rules for carrying out state supervision and direct state administration of the activities of local authorities. Local self-government is the right and possibility of citizens of Georgia to solve, within the legislation of Georgia, local issues through local self-government bodies, in the interests of local population. A local self-governing unit is a municipality. A municipality is a settlement (self-governing city) with administrative boundaries, or an aggregation of settlements (self-governing community) with administrative boundaries and an administrative centre. A municipality shall have elected representative and executive bodies (the ‘Municipal Bodies’), a registered population and its own property, budget and revenue. A municipality is a legal entity under public law.
Among others, the Code defines a village as a settlement the boundaries of which mainly include agricultural land and other natural resources, and the infrastructure of which is essentially focused on carrying out agricultural activities. Under this Law, the following property existing in the territory of a municipality shall be assigned to the municipality: a) local roads and their sections, streets, underground and overground crossings, pavements, traffic lights, street lightings, squares, public gardens, boulevards, fountains, parks, green plantings and coast-protecting structures; b) non-agricultural land, except for certain categories listed in the Code; c) the land fixed to the municipal-owned facilities, including the facilities stipulated by sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph; d) local forests and water resources; e) agricultural land, except for cases provided for in the Code. The following agricultural land shall not be considered as the property of a municipality: a) the agricultural land, including pastures, that has been registered as private or state property; b) the non-registered agricultural land for which an application for registration as state property has been filed in the manner prescribed by paragraph 3 of this article, except for cases provided for by paragraph 4 of this article; c) the non-registered agricultural land existing in the territory of a municipality; d) the routes for driving cattle; e) the agricultural land located in a 500m long borderland; f) the land of state reserves, natural monuments, national parks and sanctuaries; g) the land designated for historical, cultural, natural and religious monuments of state importance; h) the land of the state forest fund; i) the land transferred in the form of usufruct or with a right to use to the institutions and legal entities under public law financed from the state budget and from the budget of an autonomous republic of Georgia; and j) the land of the state water fund.