To further strengthen the judicial response to the cases of the domestic violence and to enhance the rights of victims, Montenegro will fully align the Law on Domestic Violence with the relevant European standards, including with recommendations of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO).

The Ministry of Justice has established a working group tasked with revising the Law on Domestic Violence and proposing the amendments. To facilitate the full alignment of the noted law with relevant standards, the joint European Union and Council of Europe action "Improved procedural safeguards in judicial proceedings in Montenegro", provides expert and technical support to the working group chaired by the Ministry.

The working group meeting took place on 21 and 22 June to discuss the draft amendments to the relevant legislation. The focus of the discussion was on, inter alia, defining the domestic violence (Article 3 of the Istanbul Convention), right of the victim to avoid contact and emergency barring and protection orders. The adoption of the amendments to the Law on Domestic Violence is due December 2022.

The activity is being implemented within the action "Improved procedural safeguards in judicial proceedings in Montenegro", which is a part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.