1. Parties shall co‐operate with each other, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, and through the application of relevant international and regional instruments on co‐operation in civil and criminal matters, arrangements agreed on the basis of uniform or reciprocal legislation and internal laws, to the widest extent possible, for the purpose of:
a.) preventing, combating and prosecuting all forms of violence covered by the scope of this Convention;
b.) protecting and providing assistance to victims;
c.) investigations or proceedings concerning the offences established in accordance with this Convention;
d.) enforcing relevant civil and criminal judgments issued by the judicial authorities of Parties, including protection orders.
2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that victims of an offence established in accordance with this Convention and committed in the territory of a Party other than the one where they reside may make a complaint before the competent authorities of their State of residence.
3. If a Party that makes mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, extradition or enforcement of civil or criminal judgments imposed by another Party to this Convention conditional on the existence of a treaty receives a request for such legal co‐operation from a Party with which it has not concluded such a treaty, it may consider this Convention to be the legal basis for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, extradition or enforcement of civil or criminal judgments imposed by the other Party in respect of the offences established in accordance with this Convention.
4. Parties shall endeavour to integrate, where appropriate, the prevention and the fight against violence against women and domestic violence in assistance programmes for development provided for the benefit of third States, including by entering into bilateral and multilateral agreements with third States with a view to facilitating the protection of victims in accordance with Article 18, paragraph 5.
