Yes, Article 10 of the Domestic Violence Law outlines both short-term and long-term protective orders.
A short-term protective order may forbid a person who has committed domestic violence from committing violence again, searching for an aggrieved person and taking actions causing nuisance to an aggrieved person.
According to this law, an executive authority may issue short-term protective orders if an act of domestic violence does not lead to criminal charges but violates the rights and legal interests of an individual.[19]
A long-term protective order may include rules for a person associated with domestic violence on communicating with his/her underage children, rules for accommodation or property, terms for covering medical or legal expenses and information on rules for not complying with the protective order.
According to Article 12.1 of the Domestic Violence Law, if a person charged with domestic violence disregards the requirements of a short-term protective order, the aggrieved person is entitled to apply for a long-term protective order.Under the Domestic Violence Law, it is unclear whether anyone other than the victim can petition for a protective order. However, there seems to be a process where organizations and family members of the victim can enter a complaint to launch an examination, which may in turn result in a protective order.
Under Article 6 ("Examination of Complaints about Domestic Violence"), a list of grounds is considered when conducting an examination related to domestic violence. The grounds include a complaint made by an aggrieved person or their family members, a petition received from governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and complaints received by guardian or foster care organizations or support centers. Therefore, it seems like many individuals can make complaints regarding an instance of domestic abuse. These complaints are then used as grounds to launch an examination by the relevant executive authority or committee.
It seems that (when looking at Article 7 and Article 8) the law is broken up by actions the state must take dependent on whether there has been criminal action. Domestic violence is not a criminal act in itself under the Criminal Code. Rather, domestic law relies on the abuser being charged with other crimes in the Criminal Code.[20]
Under Article 8 (when a criminal code violation is not involved), it is the state's duty to assist in issuing short-term protective orders. Therefore, in theory, when an examination is opened by any of the above individuals or organizations, it is the duty of the state to protect the victim by issuing a protective order.
However, it is important to note that under Article 6.3 of the Domestic Violence Law, complaints to the state related to domestic violence are only reviewed with the consent of the victim or the victim's representative if the complaint does not outline that an enumerated crime has taken place (not domestic violence).According to Article 10.3.1 of the Domestic Violence Law, a long-term protective order may include rules on the charged abuser communicating with his/her underage children. In theory, this may include temporary custody agreements for those children, although we have not been able to locate practical evidence that this has happened.
In addition, according to Article 9.0.2, one can make a request to the court for the termination or restriction of the parental rights of a person who has committed actions associated with domestic violence in the manner established by law.
In addition, the Family Code states that parents can be deprived of their parental rights if acts related to domestic violence are committed against their children.[21]
Article 10.3.2 of the Domestic Violence Law seems to allow a long-term protective order to force an abuser to move out.
The law provides that a long-term protective order can include "rules for the use of accommodation or shared property." This can be interpreted to include an order for the abuser to move out of the shared property; however, there is a trend of over concern for offenders where authorities may be reluctant to order offenders out of their homes due to property rights.
Further, a short-term protective order seems to provide for protection from an abuser by ordering them to stay away from places that the victim frequents. Articles 10.2.2 and 10.2.3 of Domestic Violence Law prohibit an abuser from searching for and causing nuisance to an aggrieved person.The Domestic Violence Law applies to the following:
- Article 4.0.1: close family members (husband, wife, parents, children, grandmothers, grandfathers, grandchildren, siblings, stepbrothers and stepsisters, adoptive parents and adoptees) and other relatives living jointly
- Article 4.0.2: formerly married couples cohabiting or living separately after the dissolution of marriage
- Article 4.0.3: individuals appointed guardians or foster parents, as well as persons under guardianship or in foster care
- Article 4.0.4: men and women cohabiting in informal marriages, as well as close relatives living jointly with persons cohabiting in informal marriages
The duties of the state under the Domestic Violence Law include the following:
- Article 8.0.7: taking actions to protect the rights and legal interests of juveniles suffering from domestic violence
Yes, Article 10 of the Domestic Violence Law provides for both a long-term and a short-term protective order.
Article 10.1-10.23 of the Domestic Violence Law states the following:
A short-term protective order may forbid a person who has committed domestic violence from committing violence again, search for an aggrieved person, and take actions causing nuisance to an aggrieved person.
Article 10.3- 10.3.4 of the Domestic Violence Law states the following:
A long-term protective order may include rules for the communication of a person associated with domestic violence with their under-age children, rules for accommodation or property, terms for covering medical or legal expenses, and information on rules for non-compliance with the protective order.
According to experts, the main issue with long-term protective orders is that they are rarely obtained.The Domestic Violence Law does not provide for any emergency orders. Short-term protective orders are issued within 24 hours of an application according to Article 11.2.
According to the same law, short-term protective orders seem to only protect the "aggrieved person," which is defined in Article 1.0.2 as follows:
A person who has suffered physically or morally as a result of the deliberate actions against him/her … by a member of person's family living together, a close relative, a person cohabiting in an informal marriage or a person previously cohabitated with him/her.
According to Article 11.2 of the Domestic Violence Law, a short-term protective order is issued for a period of 30 days.
According to Article 12.2 of the Domestic Violence Law, a long-term protective order is effective for a period of 30 days to 180 days.
A short-term protective order must be provided within 24 hours from the date of the application by the local executive authorities. A long-term protective order, issued for a six-month period, is issued based on the local court's decision. If an abuser does not comply with a short-term protective order's requirements, the court will pass a resolution within three days to extend the order up to six months.According to the Baku Research Institute, seven people in Azerbaijan were given a protective order in 2017. Three of them were short term and four were long term.
The Baku Research Institute is a nonprofit think tank that was launched by independent experts aiming to provide a local and international audience with analysis, opinion, surveys and research on a variety of issues in Azerbaijan — link to website.
More generally, the Borgen Project (a nonprofit addressing issues of poverty) issued a blog in 2020 that addresses nongovernmental organizations, domestic violence and women's rights in which it cites that, on average, women report only 44 rapes nationally per year, although estimates are higher. It is believed that others go unreported because of "societal condemnations of victims of rape" — link to website.
Short-term protective orders are rarely effective because the responsibility of issuing the orders does not lie with law enforcement but with the local executive authorities, which are local committees charged with handling noncriminal matters[22] — link to website.
According to the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, there has been an increase in the number of reported cases, as follows:
Although the official statistics are rarely reliable, even they acknowledged the growth in numbers, for example in 2017 the state reported that of the total 1,031 victims of domestic violence crimes perpetrated in 2016 in Azerbaijan, a great majority, approximately 807, were women. In 2018 these numbers were 915 women victims of domestic violence of 1,221 registered cases. The numbers of rape victims increased from 20 to 38 and then to 23 from 2016-2018 accordingly.
It is not entirely clear. However, it appears that there must be "evidence of physical violence" because "[i]f there are only light injuries, [the case] will not be considered." The victim's family must also support the prosecution, as the authorities primarily see domestic violence as a family issue.
It is not entirely clear. The law allows the police to issue warnings to domestic violence offenders. Reconciliation seems to be the main goal, as family preservation is the prevailing priority.[23]
The State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs states that part of its intent is to promote services to provide psychological and social support to families.[24]
It is reported that women who seek police protection are often ridiculed and forced to reconcile with their abusive husbands.[25]According to Articles 5.1 and 7.0.7 of the Domestic Violence Law, a judge has discretion in granting a civil protection order for a crime-related domestic violence incident.[27]
It is unclear what discretion judges have regarding civil protection orders for incidents that are not considered crime-related. These short-term civil protection orders may be issued by the executive authorities and the local committees that handle noncriminal matters, and that may apply to the court for long-term civil protection orders.
However, a long-term civil protection order may only be issued after a short-term civil protection order is issued. Long-term civil protection orders are rarely issued due to societal attitudes. Further, cooperation between judges, prosecutors and the police is lacking, and there is no referral system. Indeed, a case might not appear before a judge. Courts issued three long-term civil protection orders in 2013.
According to one expert, "judges lack sufficient knowledge on how to implement the Domestic Violence Law." Furthermore, "judges often fail to consult the Law when adjudicating cases, despite Justice Ministry trainings."It is unclear for short-term civil protection orders. According to Article 19 of the Domestic Violence Law, public support centers may provide legal and medical assistance, and assist with social allowances (Article 19.2.4). The local self-government authorities and nongovernmental organizations (Article 19.4) may establish these centers.
According to Article 10.3.3 of the Domestic Violence Law, a long-term civil protection order may include "terms for covering expenses related to medical and legal assistance rendered to an aggrieved person by a person who has committed domestic violence."
Article 14 of the Domestic Violence Law states that legal assistance to a victim should include assistance at public expense.