- International case law on domestic violence;
- International treaties and conventions and their applicability for combating domestic violence in India;
- Samples of national domestic violence laws from 10 countries around the world. Click on the sections below to access the resources you need.
International Case Law
Click here for access to landmark judgments on cases of domestic violence from Courts around the world.
This section features a sample of international case law on domestic violence. This section was designed in order to provide readers with a general impression of case law on domestic violence. In selecting these cases, preference was accorded to judgments that were frequently cited or referred to by other judgments. In addition, ground-breaking cases taking place in international courts and tribunals, such as the European Court of Human Rights or the Inter-America Commission on Human Rights, have been included. The cases have been divided to include cases relevant to the issues of the role of councillors, inspectors, and social workers; orders for protection and arrest; maintenance and compensation for damage; matrimonial property; custody; marital rape; and asylum. Each of these categories contains extracts from judgments that appear to have set a legal precedent, or exemplify the implementation of progressive domestic violence laws.
The original judgment can download here.
The cases have been divided into the following seven broad categories:
Treaties and Conventions
Click here to view India’s obligations to combat domestic violence under international law.
This section provides an outline of some major international treaties, conventions and human rights policy relevant to women’s human rights. In this section, we focus on using international treaties, conventions and human rights policy to hold state parties responsible for the protection of women against domestic violence. In cases where India has signed and ratified a treaty or convention, it has a legal responsibility to take action towards reducing levels of violence against women. Even though some international documents are not legally binding, as a signatory to these documents, India still has an obligation to abide by their spirit.
National Legislation
Click here for samples of laws on domestic violence from around the world.
This section provides a brief overview of domestic violence legislation from around the world. In order to facilitate a quick overview of ‘best practice’ legislation in different national contexts, we have presented the key points in domestic violence legislation from a total of ten countries, spanning Europe, North America, Central America, West Africa, Southern Africa, the Pacific Islands, Asia, and South East Asia. Although this is not an all-inclusive list of legislation on domestic violence, it does provide a fairly comprehensive overview of path-breaking domestic violence legislation from around the world. For example, legislation on domestic violence in the United States, one of the first countries to develop laws specific to violence against women, and Fiji, whose legislation has been replicated by other nations in the Pacific Islands, have both served as models for other nations to imitate. In other cases, legislation on domestic violence has been considered path-breaking because it was based on the letter or spirit of international treaties. For example, legislation from the Philippines draws heavily upon the principles of CEDAW. Similarly, both South Africa and Ghana have complete human rights based legislation. In some cases, the innovative aspects of certain countries’ legislations have also been considered to be path-breaking. For example, Austria and Germany were among the first countries to opt to evict perpetrators and allow victims to stay home. In other cases, countries that have sought to overcome serious obstacles to the implementation of domestic violence legislation have been recognized as significant. For example, in Japan, though the state tries to give restraining orders at the local level, victims of domestic violence seldom go to court for protection. Similarly, in Latin America, the widespread culture of machismo has normalized domestic violence.. Despite this, Honduras has evolved well-structured networks at the national and community levels to monitor and implement their legislation. Finally, the comprehensiveness of domestic violence in some contexts—such as Spanish legislation on domestic violence, which is intended to transform society by introducing gender-equality—has made it an example of ‘best practice’ legislation on domestic violence.
The summary of the laws provided serve the useful purpose of highlighting the unique or ground-breaking aspects of a particular country’s legislation on domestic violence. Moreover, the countries selected highlight specific substantive and procedural aspects of legislation on domestic violence: comprehensive injunction procedures; establishment of supportive social resources towards protection homes; scope of applicability of the law extending to include non-marital partnership; victim-centered approach to custody, immigration, and protection orders; and provision of mandatory sensitization and education programs about domestic violence.
