THE RESTRAINING ORDER IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND THE RELEVANCE OF THE VICTIM’S CONSENT IN INFRINGEMENTS.

Abstract

The execution and supervision of a restraining order in cases of Domestic Vi-olence present various legal and administrative problems which judges, pros-ecutors and police forces have to deal with daily. Certainly, stricter require-ments to justify the pronouncement of such orders and better regulations on agreement over the use of technological tools and fi xing the minimum safety distance for the victim constitute signifi cant progress in overcoming these problems. But diffi culties are also found in monitoring compliance with the restraining order when the sentence under which it was issued is impugned, and in deciding whether its issue as a cautionary measure during proceed-ings may be set towards the period of restraint handed down in the fi nal sen-tence. Finally the legal relevance of the victim’s willingness to countenance an approach when protected by a restraining order, and the precise problem observed in the appropriate interpretation of contempt of article 240 of the Civil Proceedings Code, make it necessary to go more deeply into the partic-ular characteristics which this offence presents in situations of domestic vio-lence, to develop a more integrated interpretation which will help to make the law more fl exible in reacting to infringement of an order when tolerated and/or accepted by the victim.