JURISPRUDENTIAL ANALYSIS OF ILLEGAL MARKET ACTIVITIES IN CONFLICT ZONES OF GEORGIA: THE CASES OF SOUTH OSSETIA AND ABKHAZIA

Abstract

This study examines illegal market activities in Abkhazia and South Ossetia through a jurisprudential lens, highlighting the interaction between contested sovereignty, hybrid governance, and normative law. Georgian domestic legislation, including the Law on Occupied Territories (2008), and international legal regimes; Hague Regulations, Geneva Convention IV, UN Charter, and ECHR provide a formal framework for regulating trade, protecting property, and safeguarding civilian rights. However, de facto authorities, supported by Russian control, operate parallel institutions that sustain shadow economies, smuggling networks, and hybrid governance structures. These informal systems persist because formal law cannot penetrate territories under external occupation or effective control, producing dual normative orders and reinforcing de facto political structures. By mapping empirical evidence of illicit trade flows alongside legal doctrines, the study demonstrates how law remains symbolic yet essential for post-conflict accountability and transitional mechanisms. The paper underscores the need for adaptive legal strategies that reconcile international obligations with on-the-ground realities without legitimizing illicit actors.