The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights's report, Women 2000: An Investigation into the Status of Women's Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, 2000, provides an overview of the laws on violence against women in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Legislationline, provided by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Union, contains links to domestic legislation on violence against women from 55 countries in CEE/FSU, Europe and North America. Legislationline also provides links to the law of the United Nations and the Council of Europe on violence against women.
SEELINE, the South Eastern European Legal Initiative, provides analyses of the following issues:
These analyses are provided for the following countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Turkey and Yugoslavia. SEELINE also provides links to the constitutions of Albania, Bosnia & Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey and Yugoslavia.
The Council of Europe publishes Legislation in the member States of the Council of Europe in the field of violence against women (EG (2001) 3 rev. Volumes I and II), Strasbourg, November 2002. Volume 1 and Volume II of this publication contain an overview of laws relating to violence against women in each of the Member States.
The Compendium: Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, published by the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy in March 1999, offers an overview of laws relating to violence against women that have been adopted in many jurisdictions throughout the world. Although the report focuses on criminal laws and procedures, it also includes a discussion of civil law remedies.
Specific Domestic Violence Legislation: Examples and Advantages, Liz Kelly, January 2001, analyzes and evaluates domestic violence laws enacted in a number of different countries. Kelly articulates some of the ways in which these laws differ, identifies innovative strategies that might be adopted in the United Kingdom, and articulates advantages of the different approaches.
The status of laws on violence against women in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union is in a state of flux. Below are examples of legislation recently passed in the region. Also see the country page section of this website for more information.
The Romanian Law to Prevent and Fight Against Domestic Violence (May 2003) provides for the establishment of both public and private shelters and social services for victims, grants subsidies for private organizations, requires government ministries conduct research and education on domestic violence, and allows courts to issue orders of protection against a batterer. The new law includes positive changes in legislation but also presents many obstacles in ensuring victim safety. For a more in-depth analysis of the law please visit the Expert’s Corner section of this website.
The Mongolian Law Against Domestic Violence (May 2004) requires the State to provide shelter to victims of domestic violence, funding for services and NGO’s, and allows for orders of protection.
The Advocates has issued comments on the new law.
A new 2005 Family Law in Serbia provides protective measures for victims of domestic violence including the right to remove a batterer from a house or apartment regardless of ownership rights under Civil Law.
New_Family_Law_in_Serbia.doc Full Text of the New Family Law - in Serbian [89 pages in word]
In March 2005 Bulgaria passed a new Law on Domestic Violence that includes Order for Protection provisions and is modeled after a similar law passed in Minnesota in 1979. The law provides immediate protection to victims of domestic violence without requiring that they pursue criminal remedies against or divorce from their abusers.
The Battered Women’s Justice Project has compiled a list of statutory penalties that may be imposed in domestic violence cases in a variety of U.S. jurisdictions.