Brussels, 06/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament (EP) civil liberties committee (LIBE), on Monday 5 December, endorsed the draft directive on the European protection order, which was promoted by the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2010, and which will extend protection of victims of gender violence, harassment, abduction, stalking or attempted murder, for instance, granted in one member state to all other EU countries. This specific draft directive relates solely to protection measures taken in criminal matters. A proposal for a regulation was brought forward by Commissioner Viviane Reding in May to address civil law matters.
Under the terms of the text adopted on Monday, which will be put to the plenary session of 12-15 December, European protection rules will apply to all victims of crime not just to victims of gender-based crime, MEPs say. Most protection measures relate to women who have suffered sexual violence, MEPs note, but the European protection order will also apply to men and to other types of crime. The new rules will apply to victims or possible victims who need protection “against a criminal act of another person which may, in any way, endanger his life, physical, psychological and sexual integrity … as well as his dignity or personal liberty”, says a committee press release.
What this means in practice is that, once a person has been granted protection under domestic criminal law in one member state, he/she may request a European protection order (EPO) to extend the protection to another EU country to which he/she decides to move. It will be up to the member state of origin to issue the EPO and forward it to the other country. “An EPO may be issued only if the aggressor is banned by the initial country from places where the protected person resides or which he/she visits, or if restrictions are imposed on contact or approaches by the aggressor to the protected person”, the press release continues.
The person causing the danger will have the right to be heard and to challenge the EPO. This directive will only apply to protection measures taken in criminal matters. However, “due to differences among member states' legal systems, the country to which the person moves may apply other kinds of measures (criminal, administrative or civil), provided they guarantee a similar level of protection” the committee says. The committee also wanted to ensure protection for victims' families, so EPOs may also be requested to safeguard relatives of persons for whom European protection orders have been issued. (SP/transl.rt)