European Protection Order - help for victims of crime across the EU
European Protection Order - help for victims of crime across the EU
MAIN ASPECTS
In order to issue a European protection order, it is necessary to have an existing national protection measure in place in the EU country which imposes one or more of the following prohibitions or restrictions on the person who threatens the protected person:
• prohibition to visit certain places or certain areas where the protected person resides or visits;
• prohibition or regulation of contacts in any form with the protected person, including by telephone, by electronic or regular mail, fax or any other means; or
• prohibition or regulation of approaching the protected person at less than a certain distance.
Issuing an order
There are several conditions, including:
• the protected person decides to stay or reside, or already stays or resides in another EU country;
• the protected person himself requests the order;
• the person creating danger is given the right to be heard and the right to challenge the protection measure, if these rights were not granted to him during the procedure leading to the adoption of the protection measure.
The order can be requested either in the EU country where the protected person is staying or currently resides (executing country) or in the country where the order will be issued (issuing country).
Failure to recognize an order
The executing state may refuse to recognize an order for a number of reasons, including:
• the order is incomplete or is not completed within the time limit set by the executing state;
• the protection measure relates to an act that does not constitute a crime under the law of the executing state;
• the protection measure does not impose one or more prohibitions or restrictions specified above.
If the executing State refuses to recognize the order, it must:
• to inform the protected person and the issuing country without unreasonable delay about this refusal and the grounds for it;
• to inform the protected person about the possibility of submitting a request for adoption of a protection measure in accordance with his national law;
• to inform the protected person of all applicable means of legal protection against such a decision, which are provided for in his national law.
Enforcement of order
The executing state is responsible for taking and implementing measures to implement the order. If the order is breached, she can:
• impose penalties and take any other action in consequence of a breach if that breach constitutes an offense under the law of that State;
• to take any non-punitive decisions in relation to the violation;
• to take any urgent and temporary measures to end the violation, where appropriate, pending a subsequent decision by the issuing State.
Attorney at law Iuila Danova
#3, Dobrotica Str., Varna, Bulgaria
Mob: +359 895 64 59 40
WWW: advokatvarna.com
Email: iulia.danova@abv.bg