On 10th January 2017 the European Court of Human Rights found in
the Babiarz v. Poland case that there had been no
violation of Articles 8 or 12 of the European Convention on Human
Rights in the Polish court's refusal to grant the applicant a
divorce. According to the ECHR, the refusal to grant divorce has
been consistent with Polish domestic law.
Facts of the case:
The applicant married his wife in 1997. In 2004 the wife
underwent fertility treatment in order to conceive a child. The
same year the applicant formed a relationship with a new partner
and moved out of the marital home in January 2005. In October 2005
the applicant's new partner gave birth to their daughter.
In September 2006, the applicant filed a petition for a no-fault
divorce. The wife did not agree to the divorce and asked the court
to dismiss the petition. In February 2009 the court refused to
grant a divorce to the applicant. The court held that the applicant
was the only person responsible
