1. What is domestic violence and what are the forms of domestic violence?

According to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Prevention of Domestic Violence, “domestic violence” is intentional physical or moral harm to one another committed by close relatives, other relatives in cases of cohabitation, ex-spouses living together or separately after divorce, or an individual appointed as a guardian, or a man and a woman living together without a legal marriage, as well as close relatives living with them, by abusing close family relations, cohabitation or previous cohabitation.

There are mainly physical, psychological, economic and sexual forms of domestic violence.

-Physical violence on the basis of domestic violence is the intentional physical pressure of one to another person to whom the law applies, by using force to violate his/her security, beating, damaging his/her health, torturing, restricting his/her right to liberty.

- Mental violence on the basis of domestic violence is an act aimed at intentionally exerting psychological pressure on one person by another person or creating intolerable mental conditions.

- Economic violence on the basis of domestic violence is an action aimed at depriving one of the persons to whom the law applies, of the property or income owned or used by him, creating economic dependence and maintaining such dependence.

- Domestic sexual violence is the coercion of one of the persons covered by this Law to perform sexual acts against his/her will.

2. Which state bodies consider complaints of domestic violence?

-If there is information in the complaint about the committed or planned crimes, it is considered by the prosecuting authorities.

- If there are no signs of a crime in the complaint, it is considered by the local executive authorities.

Officials of state and local self-government bodies, commissions on affairs and protection of the rights of minors, guardianship and trusteeship bodies, educational and health institutions, aid centers shall submit complaints on domestic violence to the relevant executive authorities.

3. What is a protection order?

A protection order is an act restricting the actions that a perpetrator of domestic violence can take against a victim.

A short-term or long-term protection order may be issued to the victim.

A short-term protection order may prohibit the perpetrator of domestic violence from repeating the violence, searching for the victim if the whereabouts of the victim are unknown, or other actions that cause concern to the victim. The short-term protection order is issued by the executive authorities for a period of up to 30 days.

If the perpetrator of acts of domestic violence does not comply with the warning, the victim or the executive authority has the right to apply to the court for a long-term protection order.

A long-term protection order is issued for a period of 30 to 180 days.

4. What are help centers and shelters for victims of domestic violence for?

Aid centers are governmental and non-governmental organizations established to provide legal, medical, mental, social and other assistance to victims.

State aid centers for victims are organized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection. The services provided by the State Aid Centers are free of charge. Juvenile victims may be provided with shelter at the aid center for up to 3 months, and other victims for up to 2 months, if necessary.

5. The amount of alimony withheld for children?

According to the Family Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in the absence of consent to the payment of alimony, the court collects the following amount of alimony for children from their parents each month:

- for 1 child — a quarter of earnings and (or) other parental income;

- for 2 children — one third of earnings (other income);

- for 3 and more children — half of earnings (other income).

The amount of these shares may be reduced or increased by the court, taking into account the family and financial situation of the parties, as well as other circumstances.

If there is no agreement between the parents on the payment of alimony to minors, as well as the income (earning) of the parent who is obliged to pay alimony is irregular, variable, or the parent receives all or part of the income in kind or foreign currency, or if he has no income or other income, as well as in other cases when alimony cannot be deducted from the parent's income (income), is difficult and one of the parties or interests is significantly violated, the amount of alimony at the request of the person requesting child support can be defined as a fixed amount of money to be paid each month by or at the same time both as a fixed amount of money and as a certain part of earnings (income).

6. Which parent stays with the minor when the marriage is dissolved?

When a marriage is dissolved in court, the couple may file an agreement with the court to determine with whom the minor children remain. In the absence of such an agreement between the spouses as to who will be with the children, the court must determine which of the parents of the minor children remains with them after the divorce. In this case, if there is no agreement between the parents, the court will resolve the dispute taking into account the rights and interests of the children, and their opinion and other circumstances (children's attachment to siblings, each parent, moral and other personal qualities of the parents, age of the child, his development and upbringing).

Judicial practice shows that the child often stays with his mother. Much depends on the age of the child. As a rule, a minor cannot be taken from his mother, except for exceptional cases. Exceptions are cases in which the mother is deprived of the opportunity to engage in the upbringing and development of the child. For example, the mother suffers from mental illness, drug addiction, alcoholism and serious illness, child abuse, mental and physical violence, abuse of parental rights, and so on.

The opinion of a child who has reached the age of 10 must be taken into account, except in cases where it is contrary to the interests of the child

7. What is the procedure for appointing a guardian or custodian of children deprived of parental care?

According to the Family Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, guardianship and custody are established for the purpose of upbringing, education of children who have lost their parents, as well as protection of their rights and responsibilities.

Guardianship is assigned to children under 14 years of age, and custody is assigned to children between 14 and 18 years of age.

Guardians are not appointed for children placed in institutions of education, treatment and social protection of the population under full state protection. This task is entrusted to the management of these  institution.

Temporary placement of children in such institutions does not restrict the rights and responsibilities of guardians.

The duty of guardianship (custody) of a child must be performed free of charge. Every month, the child's guardian (custodian) is provided with financial resources appointed by the state.

8.  How is the property of a husband and wife divided in case of divorce?

The property belonging to each of the parties before the marriage, as well as the property received by one of them as a gift or inheritance during the marriage, is his/her property.

A couple may divide the common property acquired during the joint marriage in accordance with a notarized agreement concluded between them.

In the event of a dispute, the parties may demand in court the division of the common property or the determination of its share in that property.

In practice, as a rule, when the common property acquired by a couple during a joint marriage is divided, their shares are determined equally.

In some cases, the shares in the common property may not be divided equally, taking into account the interests of the minor.

It should be noted that, , personal items (clothing, shoes, etc.) belong to the person who used them, even if they were obtained at the expense of the couple's common funds during the marriage except for jewelry.

9.  Women's labor rights?

According to the Labor Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, it is inadmissible to refuse to conclude an employment contract with a woman due to the fact that she is pregnant or has a child under 3 years of age. This rule does not apply to cases where the employer does not have a relevant job (position), as well as refuses to jobs that do not allow the use of women's labor.

If the employer refuses to conclude an employment contract with a woman who is pregnant or has a child under 3 years of age for these reasons, the woman has the right to demand a written response from the employer on the reasons for refusal and to go to court to protect her rights.

There is no probationary period for pregnant women and women with children under the age of three at the time of employment.

According to medical opinion, the rate of production or service for pregnant women is reduced, or they are transferred to lighter work, which excludes the impact of harmful factors of production.

If women with children under the age of one have difficulty feeding or breastfeeding in addition to performing their labor functions, the employer must, transfer woman to another light job or provide the necessary conditions for feeding the child at the woman's request until the child reaches the age of one and a half- in this case, their average salary is maintained and the reduction of their salary is prohibited by law- in this case, their average salary is maintained and the reduction of their salary is prohibited by law.

The use of women's labor in workplaces with difficult and harmful working conditions, as well as in underground tunnels, mines and other underground works is prohibited.

Pregnant women and women with children under the age of 3 are not allowed to work at night, work overtime, rest, holidays and other non-working days, as well as send them on business trips.

At the request of women who are pregnant, have a child under the age of 14, or have a child with disabilities, or who care for a sick family member on medical grounds, the employer must specify a part-time or part-time work week. In this case, the duration of a woman's daily or weekly working hours is determined by agreement of the parties.

When the number of employees is reduced or staff reductions are made, it is preferable to keep women with two or more children under the age of 16.

It is prohibited for an employer to terminate an employment contract with women who are pregnant by an employer, as well as women with children under 3 years of age who are the only source of income and who are raising a child of school age on their own.

10. What is a marriage contract?

A marriage contract is an agreement between the parties to a marriage, which defines the property rights and obligations of the spouses during the marriage or in the event of the dissolution of the marriage.

The marriage contract defines the mutual maintenance of the parties, the methods of participation in each other's income, the obligations related to the rules of participation in family expenses, the legal regime of the couple's property. The marriage contract can also be concluded on the property that the couple has and will receive in the future.

If there is no marriage contract between the parties, the property acquired by the spouses during the marriage is their joint property and is divided equally.

A marriage contract allows you to determine who owns the property and how to use it, and this can prevent any future disputes.

Husband and wife have the right to determine the mutual maintenance of each other, the methods of participation in each other's income, the rights and obligations in the family expenses, sharing the  property in case of divorce and any other provision on property relations in the marriage contract.

The marriage contract may contain provisions governing the rights and legal capacity of the spouses, the right to go to court to protect their rights, the rights and responsibilities in relation to children, as well as personal non-property relations between the spouses.