Prohibition of certain actions: Will the new measure help the victims of violence
In the Russian law, a new measure of restraint - “prohibition of certain actions”: the court may elect it in relation to the suspect or the accused, prohibiting him or her to “leave the house at a certain time, stay in some places, communicate with certain persons, send and receive postal and telegraphic mail or use funds communication and internet or driving. "
The introduced measure vaguely resembles the Western practice of guard orders prohibiting those convicted of violence to communicate with their victims and even approach them at a certain distance (similar solutions also help to protect people from stalkers' persecution). But can the new law really help the victims of violence? We turned for comments to specialists.
Very often, our legislation already allows law enforcers, law enforcement officers and judges to protect the interests of citizens. These loopholes are already there, but nobody uses them. In our country, the Constitution states that there is a person, his honor, dignity, and discrimination is prohibited - but the legal system does not always work in such a way as to confirm this. Law enforcement officers already have the opportunity to punish the aggressors in cases of domestic violence, but very often they do not resort to this measure: they send the victims home, they say that this is a “family matter” and they don’t want to understand. If domestic violence is not pronounced, it is not considered a problem.
The new measure [a ban on certain actions] cannot even be applied, because after decriminalization, the beatings were removed from the criminal code to the administrative code. If we assume that suddenly there will be a respectable judge or police officer who wants to protect victims of domestic violence, they, in fact, receive another tool. In practice, the measure, most likely, will not be used.
We have been talking for a long time about the need for a specialized law against domestic violence, which will allow us to write out a protection order, but such a law has not yet been passed. However, the current preventive measure approved in the shortest possible time. It is not surprising that it looks like just another stick that can be used to hit those who disagree.
In any case, lawyers dealing with cases of domestic violence, discrimination or any kind of violation of the rights of people should use all possible mechanisms. Perhaps we will be able to accumulate a critical mass of cases in which a new - or old - measure can be applied to protect the victims, so that it can really work or be replaced with a more effective one. Even if it does not work, it will already be on the conscience of judges, and these statistics can also be referred to.
The previous wording of the criminal procedure code provided for several measures against the suspect or the accused. From the softest to the toughest: on his own recognizance, personal surety, house arrest, bail and detention. The most stringent measure of the Russian courts became the most popular, which is not very correct: a person immediately finds himself in a psychologically difficult situation.
The ban on certain actions is an independent measure, it can be used in conjunction with bail and house arrest. It is hoped that it will increase the popularity of softer restrictions. The court will have a control mechanism (if the conditions of the ban are not respected, the court can tighten the measure of restraint), which means that it will not need to immediately resort to detention.
In English law, a non-molestation order has been provided for a long time ago - a ban on domestic violence, which a family member who has been subjected to violence may require. To draw an analogy between him and the new measure in our procedural legislation can only be conditional: the non-molestation order is an independent measure, directly spelled out in family law, in our case it is formulated rather in general terms. And given that we have recently decriminalized beatings against close relatives, the ban on certain actions cannot be applied technically.
If we are talking about more serious crimes, the ban on communication with specific individuals can be imposed. But it must be borne in mind that it is not detailed in the law and only subsequent practice will show which category of crime such prohibition will apply, in what circumstances the court will resort to it. If we are talking about rape, causing grievous bodily harm or injury of moderate severity, the court is likely to choose the most stringent measure. And if the suspect is already isolated from society, then there is no sense in forbidding him to separate contacts.
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