Police are usually involved when called by the victim (or someone else) to the incident or act on their own initiative if suspecting incident/violence.

Police intervention is governed by the Police Act, under which an immediate police action against the abuser via the institute of police expulsion is possible. The institute of expulsion can be considered one of the most important means of protection for domestic violence victims.

Expulsion is enforced if it may be reasonably assumed, based on the established facts, in particular with regard to previous attacks, that a person will commit a dangerous attack against life, health or freedom or an extremely grave attack against human dignity. Expulsion also includes a prohibition of return into the common home and into other defined premises. The abuser may be expelled from the common home for the period of ten days; is only entitled to take their personal belongings and things necessary for the performance of their profession (only in the presence of a police officer) and shall also hand in all keys from the common home to the police. In the next ten days, the abuser is not eligible to enter the common home or contact the victim.

The issue of domestic violence is also regulated within the framework of administrative offences under the Act No. 250/2016 Coll., on liability for offences and proceedings on them (přestupky), whereby the police resolve cases of violence that have not reached such an intensity that they are prosecuted as crimes. Offences that would most often fall under this framework of domestic violence are (i) offences against civil cohabitation, (ii) offences against property and (iii) offences against public order. In cases of close persons or partners, a person (victim) directly affected by the offence has to consent to the initiation or continuation of the proceedings, which means that the case will only be dealt with if such consent is granted unless it is an offence that can be dealt with without such consent.

Legal representation by law firms (attorneys) or advice of victims is not required by law. In a certain criminal proceeding, the accused must be represented by an attorney if it is mandated by the law as a necessary defence (nutná obhajoba)^[2].

Yes, proof is required; the standard of proof depends on the type of proceedings:

• Civil proceedings – for ordering a preliminary injunction, it is sufficient that the relevant facts have been documented; for the court decision, a degree of "predominant probability" will suffice. For the civil proceedings, there are no specific rules on the standard of proof beyond the court's own appreciation of the evidence. It suffices if the court is convinced with "a high level of probability" as to the existence or nonexistence of the fact that is to be proven.
• Police – the police will assess any findings and statements provided during the investigation of the incident and will impose the expulsion immediately if they find out that the attack is real, or its repeat is imminent. Police will document the findings and statements, including photographic evidence, which might be used later in cases of reoccurring incidents.
• Criminal proceedings – proof "beyond a reasonable doubt" is required.

Self-defense

Fulfilling all requirements is a defense. Under Section 29 of the Criminal Code, self-defense (necessary defense) is an act otherwise criminal, by which a person averts an impending or progressing attack to an interest protected by the Criminal Code. Such an act shall not be considered a criminal offence. However, self-defense cannot be obviously grossly disproportionate to the manner of the attack.

Insanity

Is also a defense. Under Section 26 of the Criminal Code, anyone who, due to a mental disorder, cannot identify the illegal nature of an act at the time of its commission or control his/her conduct shall not be criminally liable for such an act.

According to Section 126 para. 1 Code of Civil Procedure implies a general witness duty. By this general duty, the law imposes on anyone who has been summoned and testified as a witness. The witness must tell the truth and not hide anything. The reason for such an adjustment is that the personal statement of the witness is often irreplaceable evidence and related to its irreplaceability because only they perceived, heard, witnessed the decisive facts.

As a witness, you have a number of rights and obligations defined in the Criminal Procedure Code:

1. you have a duty to appear in a summons to a law enforcement authority and to testify about what you know about the crime, the perpetrator or the circumstances relevant to the criminal proceedings; in cases of non-appearance without proper apology, the witness may be presented;
2. you have a duty, to tell the truth, and not to conceal anything, otherwise, you could commit the crime of perjury according to Section 346 of the Criminal Code;
3. if it is necessary to find out the authenticity of the manuscript, you may be ordered to write the required number of words;
4. you are obliged to submit to participate in criminal proceedings, e.g., confrontation, recognition, investigative attempt, reconstruction, on-site inspection;
5. if necessary, you are obliged to undergo a mental examination, body examination, tolerate blood sampling, etc.;
6. under the conditions set out in the Criminal Procedure Code, you have, for example, the right to conceal the identity and appearance of a witness, the right to sign the protocol under a fictitious name, the right to respect the prohibition of questioning, the right to testify in one's mother tongue or the language you speak, the right to legal aid and the right to testify.

According to Section 126 par. 1 Code of Civil Procedure it can be read that the possibility to refuse dismissal occurs when a witness could cause a criminal danger by giving evidence prosecution of oneself or persons close to them:

1. the witness's relationship to the parties to the proceedings and to the cases before them;
2. their mental capacity;
3. the circumstances which accompany their perception of the facts that they testifies to in accordance with the manner in which those facts are reproduced and the conduct of the hearing;
4. knowledge gained from the evaluation of other evidence.

Criminal Procedure Code:

1. You can refuse to testify as a witness if he or she is accused by a relative of your kind e.g., son, daughter, father, mother, sibling, adopter, adoptive parent, spouse, partner or kind;
2. furthermore, the dismissal can be refused if the it would cause the danger of criminal prosecution to yourself or a close person (relative, partner, etc.), whose harm you would feel as self-harm.

According to some opinions, it is at the moment when the child becomes a witness of domestic violence, the factual nature of the abuse of the entrusted person according to Section 198 of the Criminal Code is fulfilled. However, in the Czech legal system, it is nowhere presumed that the presence of the child resulted in the commission of this crime.

Yes, children can testify. However, it is necessary for the child to be able to formulate their own opinion. The court may also find out the child's opinion in a form other than by directly questioning the child in court, through their representative, expert opinion or the competent body for social and legal protection of children. This way of finding out the child's opinion should be used only in exceptional cases and in no case should it be a rule.

Criminal Procedure

In criminal proceedings, any penalty or sentencing is determined by the court which makes a decision on the guilt and punishment of the accused or on the imposition of a protective measure and compensation for the injured party. The court takes into account several factors and weighs all the circumstances of the case, including the status of the accused. The main considerations are whether the accused is a first-time offender or a recidivist, the possibility of rehabilitation of the accused and also the nature and seriousness of the crime. The court can further consider other circumstances of the accused, such as their current way of life, the conduct after the act, and in particular, any attempt to eliminate harmful consequences of the violent act.

Some examples of punishments for the criminal offence (without consideration to any mitigating or aggravating circumstances of the case):

• torturing a close person living in a shared household is punishable by imprisonment for between six months to four years;
• injury to health is punished by imprisonment for six months to three years;
• rape is punished by imprisonment for six months to five years;
• stalking is punished by imprisonment up to one year or prohibition of the activity;
• neglecting compulsory care is punished by imprisonment up to one year.

In cases of administrative offences, the administrative body responsible for the proceedings is the municipal office. Penalties for administrative offences mostly include administrative fines or preventive measures. The preventive measures imposed in the course of administrative proceedings serve as restrictive orders and include, for example, a ban on visiting certain public places or an obligation to take an anti-aggression course.

If the police find out that this is a case of domestic violence and that there is a risk of further attacks, they are entitled to expel (vykázat) the violent person from the common dwelling on the spot and at the same time prohibit them from entering the common dwelling and its immediate surroundings for 10 days. This time cannot be shortened in any case. The police officer decides ex officio, i.e., each time the conditions for such a procedure are met. The consent of the endangered person is not required.

The expulsion decision is a non-criminal measure that is a preventive response to the dangerous behavior of a violent person in terms of future risk attacks and does not replace a sanction for the violent person's behavior.

In criminal proceedings, the victim (as injured) has the right to demand that they be compensation for damage caused to the body. This requirement can be met by the court in the so-called adhesion procedure (tzv. adhezním řízení)