Domestic violence in Azerbaijan: OSCE Office in Baku issues trial monitoring report

BAKU, 30 December 2013 – As part of its 2013 trial monitoring programme, the OSCE Office in Baku has today issued a report on domestic violence cases in the justice system of Azerbaijan.

The report is based on the findings of trial monitoring of domestic violence cases between July and December 2013. The purpose of the report is to assist Azerbaijan in reviewing the implementation of the 2010 law on the prevention of domestic violence, and to assess the application of this law in courts in the framework of broader domestic legislation and relevant international standards.

“The justice system plays a vital role in upholding the rights of victims of domestic violence. Therefore, the legislative framework and its implementation should continue to evolve to help ensure effective daily work by the courts and full protection and guaranteed access to justice for victims,” said Ambassador Koray Targay, Head of the OSCE Office in Baku.

He stressed that the adoption of the law on the prevention of domestic violence was a significant step forward by Azerbaijan in tackling the phenomenon. However, as the trial monitoring report notes, there are still a number of challenges to the protection of victims in domestic violence cases. These relate to the implementation of the legal procedures for the issuance of protection orders, the lack of special legal provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code for safeguarding the rights of victims of domestic violence, and other practices that may affect victims’ security and access to justice.

The full report is available here: //www.osce.org/baku/110044