Duma refuses to support bill to impose restraining order on abusers
The Russian State Duma refuses to support a bill that would impose a restraining order on abusers to prevent contact with their victim
24.04.2024
Article published on the ASI website
Documents were submitted to the State Duma in October 2023.
On 23 April, the Duma’s State Building and Legislation Committee issued a negative opinion on a bill that would impose restraining orders to prevent an offender from contacting a specific individual, reports the Kommersant newspaper.
The documents were submitted to the State Duma last October by deputies from the New People Party: Vladislav Davankov, Sardana Avksentyeva and Kseniya Goryacheva.
Under the bill, the deputies proposed adding a new article to the Russian Federation’s Civil Code, i.e. “A restraining order and (or) prohibiting other contacts by the offender with the citizen”. It is envisaged that an order “where there are grounds” could be imposed by the courts.
According to the bill’s Explanatory Note, a legal basis for a restraining order is necessary “in order to ensure the safety and protect the rights of a victim from potential violence or repeated criminal acts”.
Members of the State Duma Committee explained their decision by stating that the proposal “did not meet the goals of protecting citizens from encroachment on life, health and personal inviolability as it implies the need for protracted legal proceedings”. And a restraining order, according to the deputies, does not deal with cases where a victim of violence lives with the person who has committed the abuse.
“The proposed new Article 14.1 of the Federation’s Civil Code does not include a time limit on the restraining order. This may prove difficult to revoke if such a sanction is indefinite, for example when there has been a reconciliation between the complainant and the defendant”, Kommersant reported.
