Executive Summary
In Azerbaijan, as in many other places worldwide, both domestic violence and judicial proceedings related to domestic violence, involve rights guaranteed by the national legislation, as well as international and regional normative instruments. Country’s Constitution allows the conventions to be part of the applicable legislative framework along with the 2010 Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and subsequent amendments to other relevant laws. These normative acts provide a framework for prevention of domestic violence and provision of support to victims. However, considerable shortcomings of judicial proceedings involving domestic violence, as well as police investigation of such cases, demonstrate how much enforcement of otherwise very good laws matters and emphasize the role played by the law enforcement agencies and specifically courts in ensuring access to justice for victims of domestic violence in Azerbaijan.