The Observatory provided the impetus for the creation of the Monitoring Committee for the implementation of the Law governing Protection Orders for victims of domestic violence, covered in the Second Additional Provision of Law 27/2003, of 31st July. This Law was published in the Official Gazette on 1st August, 2003 and came into force the following day.

On 22nd July 2003, in view of the imminent adoption of the Parliament’s law , this Commission was formed consisting of the institutions represented on the Observatory - Members of the GCJ, the Ministries of Justice and Labour and Social Affairs, Autonomous Communities with competences in Justice, the Ministry of the Interior and a representative from the Public Prosecutor’s Department, the General Council of Lawyers, the National Bar Association, and the Federation of Municipalities and Provinces.

This Monitoring Committee was responsible “for preparing general protocols with a view to implementing the protective order regulated by this Act, as well as the development of appropriate instruments of coordination to ensure the effectiveness of protective and security measures adopted by the Judges and Courts and by the competent government bodies.”

The Parliament approved Law 27/2003, of 31st July.

This Commission approved the following on 31st July:

1.- The general protocol for the implementation of the protection order for victims of domestic violence, which established the criteria for coordination between the Judiciary, the Security Forces and other government bodies called to provide responses in the security, legal, psychological, health and social areas as requested by the victim.

2.- The application form for the protective order, available to all victims of domestic violence, which was distributed to all the institutions that under the statute are required to send to the Duty Court - and now also towards the Court of Violence against Women - any formal complaints which are made.

The protocol and the application form were circulated by members of the Commission to the institutions and the people reporting to them and were posted on their respective websites. The GCJ distributed them to the judiciary on the day of publication.

The Commission at its meeting on 18th December 2003, approved:

a) The guidelines of the system of communication between the judicial authorities and the Judicial Police which aimed to regulate or adjudicate a quick and safe procedure for communications between the Judicial Authority and the Judicial Police for the sake of the effectiveness of comprehensive protection of victims of domestic violence. This document has been replaced by the “Action Protocol for the Security Forces and in coordination with the Judicial Bodies”, approved by the Monitoring Committee for the Implementation of the Protection Order, at its meeting of 10th June 2004.

b) Protocol of coordination between civil and criminal jurisdictions for the protection of victims of domestic violence: It establishes criteria for the effective coordination of both jurisdictions in order to provide effective protection to victims of domestic violence. Coordination between the two jurisdictions is intended to:

• Provide the victim with a comprehensive framework of protection, preventing the existence of conflicting resolutions,
• Provide family civil courts with adequate knowledge of the actions taken by pre-trial investigation courts in matters of domestic violence,
• Enable the Family Civil Court to adopt the resolution within the legal time limits on the ratification, amendment or lifting of the civil measures agreed in a Protection Order.

It is worth noting the importance of a detailed knowledge of judicial resolutions issued in relation to the same victim or family, for which the proper functioning of the Central Registry for the Protection of Victims of Domestic Violence is necessary , covered by paragraph 10 of Article 544, 3rd, of the Law of Criminal Procedure..

This document was distributed to the Judiciary as a whole.

c) Regarding Administrative Coordination on welfare measures and social protection. Work is continuing on the development of the Coordination Points that have been determined by the Autonomous Communities, which are being constituted instead of the receipt of notification and communication from the competent authorities for the adoption of the appropriate social and welfare measures. The Autonomous Communities that have provided the Commission with Coordination Points have to this end established a number of offices for the Care of Victims and others at the General Directorate on Women or Women’s Institute of the respective Autonomous Community. The competent Courts and Tribunals have been notified of these Coordination Points.

d) The Commission has prepared a dossier on legal aid to victims of domestic violence and on the health care and protection resources that the Autonomous Communities make available to victims.

The Commission at its meeting on 18th December 2004, approved the following:

The “Action and Coordination Protocol by the Security Forces with the Judicial Bodies for the protection of victims of domestic and gender-based violence”. This protocol reflects the commitment of these institutions to achieve more effective protection for victims of gender-based violence, strengthening the presence in all judicial police units of officers of the Security Forces who specialise in the treatment of domestic and gender-based violence and regulating their actions to optimise protection. One of the main objectives of the protocol is the coordination between courts and the police to ensure quick and smooth communication between the two bodies to ensure the protection of victims. This protocol was adapted to the changes introduced by Spanish Organic Law 1/2004, on Integral Protection Measures against Gender Violence, which was approved by the Technical Committee of the National Coordinating Committee of the Judicial Police on 28th June, 2005.