{"data":{"id":"us-ga/o.c.g.a.-15-11-16","jurisdiction":"us-ga","citation":"O.C.G.A. § 15-11-16","heading":"Commencement of proceedings.","body":"(a) A proceeding under this chapter may be commenced:\n(1) By an order of transfer of a case from another court as provided in Code Section 15-11-11 or 15-11-567, subsection (f) of Code Section 29-2-6, or subsection (b) of Code Section 29-2-8;\n(2) By the summons, notice to appear, or other citation in a proceeding charging a juvenile traffic offense or a violation of the laws, rules, and regulations governing the Department of Natural Resources Game and Fish Division; or\n(3) By the filing of a petition for legitimation under Code Section 15-11-11, or in other cases by the filing of a complaint or a petition as provided in Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 of this chapter.\n(b) The petition and all other documents in the proceeding shall be entitled “In the interest of _______________ , a child,” except upon appeal.\n(c) On appeal, the anonymity of a child, and where appropriate, a victim or witness who is under the age of 18 years, shall be preserved by appropriate use of a child’s, victim’s, or witness’s initials as appropriate.","path":["TITLE 15 Courts","CHAPTER 11 Juvenile Code","Article 1 General Provisions"],"source_url":"https://archive.org/download/gov.ga.ocga.2018/release86.2022.11/gov.ga.ocga.title.15.odt","current_through":"Release 86 (2022-11)","vintage":"Public.Resource.Org bulk O.C.G.A., Release 86 (2022-11), retrieved 2026-09-17","retrieved_at":"2026-09-17T19:34:57Z","sha256":"4344e837d555f36e10180a4e3e4fc5520e018a3d35d86e9395d68463253a5ca2","source_id":"us-ga","stale":false,"prev":"us-ga/o.c.g.a.-15-11-15","next":"us-ga/o.c.g.a.-15-11-17"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}