International and European standards of justice in cases related to domestic violence

The article analyses the main international and European standards of justice related to domestic violence, their impact on the national legal system and the effectiveness of implementation in Ukraine. The study is based on the analysis of key international documents, such as: The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women – obliges states to eliminate all forms of discrimination, including domestic violence; the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women – recognises domestic violence as a human rights violation and calls for the creation of effective legal and social mechanisms to prevent it. The European Union and the Council of Europe have regulations that oblige member states to implement effective policies to combat domestic violence: The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence is the main international document that establishes four key principles: prevention of violence, protection of victims, prosecution of perpetrators and implementation of a comprehensive state policy; the European Convention on Human Rights – provides for protection from inhuman or degrading treatment and the right to an effective judicial remedy; the case law of the European Court of Human Rights; Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, including victims of domestic violence; replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA. The article examines the existing changes in domestic legislation on issues related to domestic violence. Using general scientific and special legal methods, the main problems of law enforcement in the field of combating domestic violence are identified and ways to improve national legislation are suggested. Particular attention is paid to the need to ensure effective protection of victims from domestic violence, to conduct prompt and effective investigation of domestic violence cases, to isolate perpetrators, to introduce specialised court procedures and to increase liability for domestic violence. The results of the study may be useful for scholars, human rights defenders, legislators and law enforcement officials who deal with issues of combating domestic violence and implementing international standards in the national legal system.