Strengthening victims’ rights in the EU

The aim of this EU law is to ensure the mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters in order to strengthen victims’ rights in the EU.

ACT

Regulation (EU) No 606/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 on mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters (OJ L 181 of 29.6.2013)

SUMMARY

This EU regulation establishes rules for a simple and rapid mechanism for the recognition of protection measures in civil matters ordered in EU countries.

The aim is to ensure that, without going through time-consuming procedures, victims of (for example domestic) violence or persons whose physical and/or psychological integrity or liberty is at risk and who benefit from a protection measure taken in one EU country benefit from the same level of protection in other EU countries should they move or travel.

A protection measure in one EU country is designed to protect victims of violence (for example domestic violence, stalking or violence against children) if that person’s physical and/or psychological integrity or liberty is at risk.

Protection measures are issued by a judicial or other authority upon request of the person at risk. Many of them are ordered without the person causing the risk being summoned to appear, in particular in case of urgency procedures.

More people are moving or travelling abroad. It is therefore extremely important to ensure that such temporary protection provided in one EU country is maintained when a person travels or moves to another EU country without having to go through time-consuming procedures.

A standardised multilingual certificate is designed to speed up the process by ensuring that the EU country to which the person at risk has gone to will recognise the protection measure issued by the first EU country without any intermediate formalities.

The certificate contains all information relevant for recognition and, where applicable, enforcement of the protection measure. The way it is designed to work is as follows:

• the competent authority of the first country issues the certificate to the protected person and brings it to the notice of the person causing the risk (a translation of this certificate may also be provided upon request by the protected person);
• the protected person provides the certificate and a copy of the protection measure to the competent authorities of the second country which then ensures its enforcement by adjusting the factual elements of the protection measure, if needed.

RELATED ACTS

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, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA (OJ L 315 of 14.11.2012).

This directive replaces the provisions of Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings. In seeks to promote the following: the right to dignity, life, physical and mental integrity, liberty and security, respect for private and family life, the right to property, the principle of non-discrimination, the principle of equality between women and men, the rights of the child, the elderly and persons with disabilities and the right to a fair trial, namely to establish minimum standards on the protection of victims of crime at the EU level.

Last updated: 07.03.2014