The protection order – is a means of defense for victims of domestic violence.

The law provides us with the definition of domestic violence, which means any intentional act or inaction of physical, sexual, psychological, economic, social, spiritual, or cyber violence that occurs in the family or domestic environment or between spouses or ex-spouses, as well as between current or former partners, regardless of whether the perpetrator lives or has lived with the victim.

The Romanian legislator does not remain passive in the face of the seriousness of these facts by regulating a measure to remove the danger, namely the PROTECTION ORDER.  Further, we will point out the issues of interest regarding this defense instrument based on the regulation in force (Law no. 217/2003).

WHAT ARE THE FORMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?

Firstly, the forms in which domestic violence manifests itself are listed in the law: (i) verbal violence (offensive, brutal language); (ii) psychological violence (imposing personal control, provoking tension, threats, blackmail, control of personal life, acts of jealousy, stalking, surveillance of the victim’s home, workplace or other places frequented by the victim, telephone calls or messages that create fear); (iii) physical violence (bodily harm or harm to health); (iv) sexual violence (sexual assault, infliction of degrading acts, forced sexual intercourse, marital rape); (v) economic violence (prohibition of work, deprivation of basic means of subsistence, refusal to support the family, imposition of heavy and harmful work to the detriment of health; (vi) social violence (imposition of isolation from family, community and friends, prohibition of attendance at educational institution or workplace, prohibition/limitation of professional achievement); (vii) spiritual violence; (viii) cyber violence (online harassment, hateful online messages, online stalking, online threats, non-consensual publication of intimate information and graphic content, illegal access to intercept communications and data).

WHO CAN GET A PROTECTION ORDER?

The law provides that a person whose life, an act of violence endangers physical or mental integrity, or freedom by a family member may apply for a protection order.

The term “family member” means

• ascendants and descendants, brothers and sisters, their spouses and children, as well as persons who have become relatives by adoption according to the law;
• spouse and/or ex-spouse; siblings, parents and children from other relationships of the spouse or ex-spouse;
• persons who have established relationships similar to those between spouses or between parents and children, current or former partners, whether or not they lived with the perpetrator, the ascendants and descendants of the partner, and their brothers and sisters;
• the guardian or other person exercising rights in fact or law in respect of the person of the child;
• the legal representative or other person caring for the person with a mental illness, intellectual disability or physical disability, except for those performing these duties in the exercise of their professional duties.

PROVISIONAL PROTECTION ORDER

The interim protection order is issued by police officers who, in the exercise of their duties, find that there is an imminent risk that an act of domestic violence endangers the life, physical integrity, or freedom of a person.

The imminent risk is assessed based on a risk assessment form, and based on the answers to the questions, the police will issue the provisional protection order or not.

WHAT IS THE DURATION OF A PROVISIONAL PROTECTION ORDER?

The provisional protection order is ordered for five days.

WHAT MEASURES CAN BE ORDERED BY THE PROVISIONAL PROTECTION ORDER?

One or more protective measures may be ordered, which become binding immediately after the issuing of the protection order, without a summons or the expiry of a time limit, and are enforceable:

• temporary eviction of the offender from the shared dwelling, regardless of whether the offender is the owner of the property;
• reintegration of the victim and, where appropriate, the children into the common home;
• requiring the perpetrator to keep a specified minimum distance from the victim, members of the victim’s family or the protected person’s residence, place of work or educational establishment;
• order the perpetrator to hand over the weapons to the police.

Violation of any of the measures ordered constitutes a criminal offense and is punishable by imprisonment of 6 months to 5 years.

PROTECTION ORDER

The court orders the protection order for a fixed and interim period. The court’s application for a protection order is not conditional on the previous issuance of a provisional protection order by the police.

The victim can make the application in person or through a representative. The application may also be made on behalf of the victim by the public prosecutor, the representative of the authority responsible for the protection of victims of domestic violence, or the representative of social service providers in the field of preventing and combating domestic violence, with the consent of the victim.

WHAT IS THE DURATION OF A PROTECTION ORDER?

The duration shall be determined by the judge, not exceeding six months, and if the judgment does not mention the measures’ duration, they shall take effect for a period of 6 months from the date of the order. After the expiry of the protection order’s duration, the victim may apply for a new protection order if the imminent risk persists.

WHAT MEASURES CAN BE ORDERED BY THE PROTECTION ORDER?

• temporary eviction of the offender from the family home, regardless of whether the offender is the property owner;
• reintegration of the victim and, where appropriate, the children into the family home;
• restricting the abuser’s right of use to only part of the shared dwelling where it can be shared in such a way that the abuser does not come into contact with the victim;
• accommodation/placement of the victim, with his/her consent, and, where appropriate, of the children, in an assistance centre;
• requiring the perpetrator to keep a specified minimum distance from the victim, members of the victim’s family or the protected person’s residence, place of work or educational establishment;
• a ban on the perpetrator travelling to certain localities or specific areas which the protected person frequents or visits regularly;
• prohibition of any contact, including by telephone, correspondence or any other means, with the victim;
• order the perpetrator to hand over the weapons to the police;
• custody of minor children or establishment of their residence.

To prevent the violation of the protection order, the court may also order by the same judgment control measures such as:

• order the offender to report regularly, at intervals determined by the court according to the circumstances, to the police station responsible for supervising compliance with the protection order;
• order the offender to give information to the police about the new home, if an order has been made to evict him from the family home;
• regular and/or spontaneous checks on the whereabouts of the offender.

In addition, by the same decision, it may also order:

• the perpetrator’s payment of rent and/or maintenance for the temporary accommodation where the victim, minor children, or other family members live or are to live due to their inability to stay in the family home.
• forcing the offender to undergo psychological counseling, psychotherapy, voluntary or involuntary commitment. If the offender is a user of psychoactive substances, the court may, with their consent, order him or her to be placed in a program to assist drug users.

Violation of any of the measures ordered by the court, apart from the measure to pay rent or maintenance for the victim’s temporary accommodation, constitutes a criminal offense and is punishable by imprisonment of 6 months to 5 years.

CAN THE PROTECTION ORDER BE REVOKED?

Suppose a protection order for a maximum duration has been ordered. In that case, the person against whom it is directed may request the revocation of the order or replace the measure ordered. Cancellation is only possible if the following conditions are met:

• the offender has complied with the prohibitions or obligations imposed;
• the offender has undergone psychological counseling, psychotherapy, detoxification treatment, or any other form of counseling or therapy that has been established for him or recommended to him or has complied with safety measures if such measures have been taken in accordance with the law;
• if there is a competency-based assessment of the risk of re-offending by a probation service which indicates a sufficiently low risk and that the perpetrator no longer poses a real danger to the victim of domestic violence or her family.