H.W. v France · No. 13805/21
European Court of Human Rights · 23 January 2025 · Article 8
H.W. wanted her marriage to end. What she contested was the court’s power to place the blame for its breakdown on her decision to stop having sex with her husband. The difference between the divorce and the reasons recorded for it determined what she asked of Strasbourg.
What changed on appeal in Versailles
The family judge granted a divorce on the ground that the marriage had broken down, without attributing fault. The Versailles Court of Appeal instead blamed H.W. alone, treating her refusal of sexual relations as a serious and repeated breach of marital obligations. In September 2020 the Cour de cassation rejected her challenge.
What Strasbourg decided about consent
The European court held unanimously that the fault ruling interfered with her private life and bodily autonomy. Consent to marry could not stand in for consent to sex throughout a marriage. Her husband could seek a divorce on grounds of breakdown. Ending the marriage did not require a judge to penalise her refusal.
What H.W. actually obtained
H.W. asked for a symbolic €1. The Court considered the finding itself sufficient and made no award for costs, which were unsupported by the required documents. France later reported that she could seek domestic re-examination and that it knew of no such request as of 19 November 2025. The Committee of Ministers closed supervision on 10 December. Strasbourg itself did not rewrite the divorce decree.
Judgment and sources
Read the Strasbourg judgment in HUDOC
France’s November 2025 action report
Committee of Ministers’ final resolution
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