(2018) 4/2 Visn. Nac. akad. prokur. Ukr. 96–109
doi
Title of the article	Council of Europe Standards of Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence
Author(s)	VERONIKA PLOTNIKOVA PhD in Law, head, department of implementation of the European Court of Human Rights case-law into the prosecutorial activities, Special Training Institute, National Prosecution Academy of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine plotnikova.nika@gmail.com
Short title of the journal (ISSN)	Visn. Nac. akad. prokur. Ukr.
Year	2018
Issue	4/2
Pages	[96–109]
Language	Ukrainian
Abstract	The implementation of European standards of human rights protection is one of the strategic directions of legal policy in Ukraine. National mechanisms for preventing and combating domestic violence are at the stage of reorganization, which necessitates a thorough examination of the Council of Europe standards and the established practice of the European Court of Human Rights for further implementation in the work of legal professionals. The article is an overview. The purpose of the article is to identify the main sources of the Council of Europe standards of preventing and combating domestic violence and to consider the legal positions of the European Court of Human Rights in this area. The author stresses that today the Council of Europe has developed a large number of recommendations for the protection of the rights of domestic violence victims. The main regulatory document in this area is the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) (2011). Ukraine has signed this Convention but has not ratified it yet. Implementation of its main requirements is carried out by improving the national legislation in this area. In order to implement the provisions of the Istanbul Convention in 2017, the Law of Ukraine “On Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence” was adopted and significant amendments were made to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes of Ukraine, which will come into force in January 2019. The current legislation of Ukraine establishes administrative and criminal liability for the commission of physical, psychological, sexual or economic violence. The prosecutor has been identified as one of the subjects of prevention and counteraction to domestic violence. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the main activity of the prosecutor in combating domestic violence is procedural management of criminal investigation of domestic violence offences. The prosecutor should take into account that such investigations must comply with the efficiency criteria set forth in the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the positive obligations of the State under Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (the Convention). The commission of domestic violence may fall within the scope of Article 14 of the Convention and is considered as discrimination. It is also advisable to follow the opinions of the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors as sources of rules and norms relating to the activities of the prosecutor’s office. The conclusions, in particular, put forward the requirement for the differentiation of cases falling within the concept of domestic violence, the implementation of the proper legal qualification of the act underlying domestic violence. Prosecutors must carefully listen to the victims, take into account the peculiarities of their psychological state and dependence on the offender.
Keywords	domestic violence; Council of Europe standards; the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights; opinions of the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors; Istanbul Convention; prosecutor.
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