Domestic Violence Legislation in Greece: Analysis of Penal Mediation

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the penal mediation clause within Greece’s domestic violence legislation (Law 3500/2006) in the context of contemporary criminal justice theories. An overview of Law 3500/2006 will be presented, along with highlights of recent changes leading to Law 4531/2018 ratified as part of the Istanbul Convention and Law 4604/2019 designed to enhance gender equality. The penal mediation component of the Law will be discussed in depth and theories related to application of coordinated community response, restorative justice, and power and control will be highlighted. Current debates that lack clarity and scientific evidence, and could possibly lead to dismantling a “good” legal provision, will be presented. Greece’s penal mediation provision has the potential to be a best practice. However, lacking a proper evaluation, this information could be prematurely lost. Last, an action plan for scientific evaluation and legal clarification of the penal mediation clause will be presented.

Keywords:

• Greece
• domestic violence
• penal mediation
• restorative justice

Notes

Notes

Notes

1 Restorative justice in cases of domestic violence, best practice examples between increasing mutual understanding and awareness of specific protection needs (JUST/2013/JPEN/AG/5487).

2 Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, which was formed as part of the Istanbul Convention’s monitoring mechanism with the aim of assessing and improving the implementation of the Convention by Parties.

1 Επανορθωτική Δικαιοσύνη σε περιπτώσεις ενδοοικογενειακής βίας, παραδείγματα καλύτερης πρακτικής ανάμεσα στην αυξανόμενη κοινή κατανόηση και την επίγνωση συγκεκριμένων αναγκών προστασίας (JUST/2013/JPEN/AG/5487)

2 Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence – που είχε σχηματιστεί σαν εποπτικός μηχανισμός της Σύμβασης της Κωνσταντινούπολης με στόχο την αξιολόγηση και τη βελτίωση της εφαρμογής της Σύμβασης από τα συμβαλλόμενα μέρη