scholarly journals New criminal law responses of the Republic of Serbia to violence against women

Temida ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-187
Author(s):  
Sladjana Jovanovic

The Republic of Serbia, within the framework of (intolerably) frequent amendments to the criminal legislation (often rooted in populist demands), has also improved its response to violence against women, which is the subject of this paper. In the first place, new criminal offences have been analyzed, as well as the more severe legislative penal policy, the main features of the Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence, and the link between the legal framework and the judicial practice, in order to point out the existing shortcomings. The author concludes that changes in approaches are most often explained as necessity due to European integration, and harmonization with the EU law (in the field of protection of women from violence, for which the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence is of particular importance), so there is an impression that the changes are more formal, declarative and not well-thought-out.

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-335
Author(s):  
Vladislava Stoyanova

Migrant women victims of domestic violence might face a stark choice between leaving an abusive relationship and tolerating the abuses so that they can preserve their residence rights in the host country. EU law suffers from some major limitations in addressing this situation. In view of the EU ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women (‘the Istanbul Convention’), will the EU be required to take new measures in light of the demands imposed by Article 59 of the Istanbul Convention that addresses the residence rights of migrant women victims of violence? By clarifying these demands and juxtaposing them with the relevant EU law standards, this article shows the divergences and convergences between the two regional European legal orders. It also forwards concrete suggestions as to which EU rules might need to be modified.


2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 1013-1034
Author(s):  
Catherine Briddick

AbstractThe treatment of third-country nationals (TCNs) under EU law falls far short of the EU's commitments to eliminate gender inequality and to ‘combat all kinds of domestic violence’. Not only does Article 13(2)(c) of the EU Citizens’ Directive, as interpreted by the CJEU in Secretary of State for the Home Department v NA, fail to ‘safeguard’ the rights of TCNs, it may also enable domestic violence. When presented with an opportunity to remedy its disadvantageous treatment of TCNs by fully ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (the Istanbul Convention), the Council of the EU chose instead to pursue a selective and partial ratification which leaves TCN victims without recourse to the very provisions designed to assist them. The European Parliament stated that it ‘regrets’ this approach, recommending instead ‘a broad EU accession … without any limitations’. This article's analysis of the EU Citizens’ Directive and Istanbul Convention supports this recommendation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-214
Author(s):  
Ciarán Burke ◽  
Alexandra Molitorisová

The decisions of the governments of Slovakia, Bulgaria and Latvia not to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) caused a turmoil within the Council of Europe system. This article first examines the respective rationales provided to justify the states’ decisions not to ratify the Convention. Against the background of the Bulgarian Constitutional Court’s recent decision, legal advice provided to the governments of Slovakia and Latvia and various public announcements, the present article examines legal, cultural, linguistic and societal arguments put forward by the respective governments against ratification. It then revisits the interpretative declarations submitted by Poland, Lithuania, Croatia and Latvia against the Convention’s narrow reservation regime. The article then compares the situation ignited by the Istanbul Convention with the reservation regime under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (cedaw) and the so-called Sharia reservations. It highlights the interconnectedness of the two treaties as well as their differences, while shedding light on the treaties’ reservations/declarations regimes. In so doing, a discussion is offered of the advantages and disadvantages of wider and narrower reservation regimes in treaties pertaining to the rights of women. The article concludes by pointing to the implications for the validity and effectiveness of the interpretative declarations submitted by the EU countries in question if the Istanbul Convention and cedaw are not treaties in conflict, and if the declarations are manifestly unfounded. The article also places emphasis on the role of grevio and the cedaw Committee to combat potential withdrawal tendencies via high-quality monitoring and evaluation output.


Author(s):  
Nataliia Kramarchuk

The article describes the process of establishing mechanism for preventing, punishing and eliminating violence against women in the European region and outlines the main components of such mechanism. The main non-binding Council of Europe instruments on violence elimination against women, namely the Declaration on Policies for Combating Violence against Women in a Democratic Europe (adopted at the 3rd European Ministerial Conference on Equality between Women and Men (Rome, 21-22 October 1993) and Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Recommendation Rec(2002)5 to member states on the protection of women against violence are analyzed. The key developments of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence are characterized. It has been found that in the Convention, the phenomenon of "woman" and "femininity" is disclosed through the category of gender, but not through purely sexual biological traits. Both the concept of gender based violence and cross-border approach to violence against women have been considered. The main obligations of States with regard to the protection of certain categories of women who may be victims of violence due to their particular status, such as migrant women and refugees, are also discussed in the article. The main aspects of substantive law norms of the Convention have been analyzed. The monitoring mechanism of the Istanbul Convention, which consists of Committee of the Parties and the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, has been described. It has been found that the case law of the European Court of Human Rights plays an important role in developing effective mechanism for combating violence against women. The high-profile case of the ECHR concerning the issue of violence against women (Opuz v. Turkey, 2009) has been discussed. A brief overview of the legal framework on violence against women in Ukraine has been provided. Key directions for the improvement of the Ukrainian national mechanism for combating violence against women have been suggested.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 647-652
Author(s):  
Libor Klimek

This contribution deals with European legal documents in the context of domestic violence. It focuses on the most crucial contemporary documents containing requirements addressed to European States. It analyses documents of the European Union and the Council of Europe. It is divided into three sections. The first section introduces the European Union Directive 2012/29/EU on victims of crime (Directive 2012/29/EU establishing the minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime), the second section analyses the Directive 2011/99/EU on the European protection order, and the third section briefly focuses on the Council of Europe convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul convention). Many problems occurred. The legal framework exists, but the needs of each victim should be assessed individually. As regards the Directive on victims of crime, no government is willing to monitor it. As regards the European protection order, only a few such protection orders have been applied.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1777-1782
Author(s):  
Miodrag Simović ◽  
Dragan Jovašević ◽  
Marina Simović

Domestic violence, not only in the Republic of Serbia but in other legal systems as well, is a dangerous criminal offence amongst crime violence which is going on between close relatives. Therefore, in addition to the system of criminal sanctions, various measures of preventive characters are applied more and more often against persons committing violence, in prevention of this dangerous social evil. Their goal is to prevent domestic violence in general or its recommission. Similar situation is in the Republic of Serbia where a special law has been applied since 2016.With the aim of taking organized and systematic activities of different social subjects, especially state organs to prevent and combat (repress) domestic violence or violence in relationships in the Republic of Serbia, the Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted in 2011 a “National strategy to prevent and combat violence over women in families and relationships”. This strategy is an expression of the RS Government’s resoluteness to protect women from domestic violence and relationships in advance, complying with international standards and acts on the protection of fundamental human rights - by providing support to all the subjects in their activities to prevent and combat these forms of violence. This way, the Strategy encourages application of international and domestic legal norms and standards protecting human rights, promoting gender equality and prohibiting any form of domestic or relationship violence against women, as form of violence which mostly affects women. This Strategy confirms inclusion of the Republic of Serbia into joint activities of the Council of Europe and the European Union, having the aim to raise social consciousness about the problem of domestic violence against women and forming of realistic assumptions for efficient prevention of these forms of violence. The essence of this Strategy are conclusions reached at the National Conference on combat against violence against women, held in 2007 as part of the Council of Europe’s campaign for the combating against all forms of violence against women, including domestic violence.The Strategy of the Republic of Serbia pays special attention to the group of women who are exposed (or potentially might be exposed) to multiple discrimination, as vulnerable groups of women, like women with disabilities, Roma women, mothers of disabled children, handicapped women or women with chronical diseases, women from the villages, older women, refugees or displaced women etc. This Strategy especially took into account a Recommendation of the Council of Europe 1905 (2010) on the necessity to protect children who witness domestic violence, adopted in March 2010, which leans on the Declaration of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 1714 (2010) on Children who witness domestic violence.


Author(s):  
Zorica Saltirovska Professor ◽  
Sunchica Dimitrijoska Professor

Gender-based violence is a form of discrimination that prevents women from enjoying the rights and liberties on an equal level with men. Inevitably, domestic violence shows the same trend of victimizing women to such a degree that the term “domestic violence” is increasingly becoming synonymous with “violence against women”. The Istanbul Convention defines domestic violence as "gender-based violence against women", or in other words "violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately." The situation is similar in the Republic of Macedonia, where women are predominantly victims of domestic violence. However, the Macedonian legal framework does not define domestic violence as gender-based violence, and thus it does not define it as a specific form of discrimination against women. The national legislation stipulates that victims are to be protected in both a criminal and a civil procedure, and the Law on Prevention and Protection from Domestic Violence determines the actions of the institutions and civil organizations in the prevention of domestic violence and the protection of victims. The system for protection of victims of domestic violence closely supports the Law on Social Protection and the Law on Free Legal Aid, both of which include provisions on additional assistance for women victims of domestic violence. However, the existing legislation has multiple deficiencies and does not allow for a greater efficacy in implementing the prescribed measures for the protection of victims of domestic violence. For this reason, as well as due to the inconsistent implementation of legal solutions of this particular issue, the civil sector is constantly expressing their concern about the increasingly wider spread of domestic violence against women and about the protection capabilities at their disposal. The lack of recognition of all forms of gender-based violence, the trivial number of criminal sentences against persons who perform acts of domestic violence, the insufficient support offered to victims – including victim shelters, legal assistance, and counseling, and the lack of systematic databases on domestic violence cases on a national level, are a mere few of the many issues clearly pointing to the inevitable conclusion that the protection of women-victims of domestic violence is inadequate. Hence, the functionality and efficiency of both the existing legislation and the institutions in charge of protection and support of women – victims of domestic violence is being questioned, which is also the subject for analysis in this paper.


2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Dragana Radenković-Jocić ◽  
Ivan Barun

Abstract The authors present the issues and challenges related to the changes in status of a company and its impact on competitiveness. Status changes of companies, mostly mergers and acquisitions of companies, are one of the ways in which capital owners and management direct economic activities with the aim of maximizing profits. In order to make the right and justified decision, in terms of achieving the economic interests of the company, it is essential to know the laws and regulations in this area. This paper should provide answers on various questions which will be presented to decision makers in every company, considering status changes. Bearing in mind that the question of status changes often associated with an international element, the authors will pay special attention on the EU legislation and current legal framework in the Republic of Serbia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (90) ◽  
pp. 97-118
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Mojašević ◽  
Aleksandar Jovanović

The Act on the Protection of the Right to a Trial within a Reasonable Time, which took effect in 2016, has created the conditions in our legal system for the protection of the right to a trial within a reasonable time, as one of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and related international documents. Although the legislator does not explicitly provide for the application of this Act in the context of bankruptcy proceedings, it has been used in judicial practice as a mean for the bankruptcy creditors to obtain just satisfaction in cases involving lengthy bankruptcy proceedings and a violation of the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time. The subject matter of analysis in this paper is the right to a trial within a reasonable time in bankruptcy cases. For that purpose, the authors examine the case law of the Commercial Court in Niš in the period from the beginning of 2016 to the end of 2019, particularly focusing on the bankruptcy cases in which complaints (objections) were filed for the protection of the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time. The aim of the research is to examine whether the objection, as an initial act, is a suitable instrument for increasing the efficiency of the bankruptcy proceeding, or whether it only serves to satisfy the interests of creditors. The authors have also examined whether this remedy affects the overall costs and duration of the bankruptcy proceeding. The main finding is that there is an increasing number of objections in the Commercial Court in Niš, which still does not affect the length and costs of bankruptcy. This trend is not only the result of inactivity of the court and the complexity of certain cases but also of numerous external factors, the most prominent of which is the work of some state bodies.


Author(s):  
E. S. Leonov

In recent years there has been brewing up a necessity in Russia to change direction of its external energy policy radically as a result of unconstructive and hugely politically charged approach of the EU - main and traditional partner of Russia - to settlement of fundamental issues in bilateral cooperation. First of all this refers to failed efforts to create regional energy security system, based on respective institutions and legal framework, by reason of unwillingness of the EU to respect the Russian standpoint as an exporter of energy resources. As a result, there is a legal vacuum today in energy cooperation between Russia and the EU, which they failed to fill. The current political crisis in Europe, which is caused by accession of the Republic of Crimea to the Russian Federation and events in Ukraine, has aggravated long-standing problems of energy partnership EU-Russia. At the same time active EU policy on diversification of energy sources and supply routes discredits peculiar role of Russia as EU key energy supplier. These factors have triggered a significant revision of Russian interests in favor of eastern direction. A new promising contract with China on 21 May 2014 and memorandum with Turkey on 1 December 2014 are the milestones of the present Russian eastern policy. Both contracts can disrupt power balance on the global energy market. The article deals with background and causes for the present Russian eastern activity.


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