Information Note on the Court’s case-law 260

March 2022

W v. France (communicated case) - 13805/21

Article 8

Article 8-1

Respect for private life

Divorce on grounds of exclusive fault of one partner for prolonged refusal to have intimate relations, found to be incompatible with continued cohabitation: communicated

The case concerns the reasoning of a divorce order by the courts. The couple had been married since 1984 and both partners filed for divorce on the grounds of fault by the other partner. The Court of Appeal examined the applicant’s complaints and dismissed them. In subsequently examining the husband’s complaints, it found that the medical evidence relied on by the applicant did not justify her continued refusal since 2004 to have intimate relations with her husband, which was a source of arguments between them. Taking the view that this constituted a serious and repeated breach of the duties and obligations of marriage making continued cohabitation intolerable, the Court of Appeal granted a divorce in 2019 on grounds of fault by the applicant alone.

The Court of Cassation dismissed an appeal on points of law by the applicant without giving specific reasons; according to the report of the reporting judge, the courts below had full discretion in the matter. The applicant argued that the Civil Code made no mention of any obligation to have sexual relations and that the domestic courts had ceased to apply the concept of conjugal duty in 1990. She added that her refusal to have intimate relations was justified by health problems and by her husband’s violent behaviour, both of which rendered her vulnerable.

Communicated under Article 8 of the Convention (private life).

© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.

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