The right to refuse to testify against your partner in criminal procedures – a comparative case study of question 2.8 in the LawsAndFamilies Database

This is chapter 4 of a report that offers a comparative analysis of legal and other data concerning same-sex (and different-sex) families, in marriage, in registered partnership, and in cohabitation. These data (from a legal survey among legal experts in 21 European countries, from sociological interviews with same-sex families in four European countries, and from a statistical survey of twelve European countries) have been brought together in the LawsAndFamilies Database – Aspects of legal family formats for same-sex and different-sex couples ( www.LawsAndFamilies.eu ). This chapter of the report shows that almost all the countries examined guarantee a certain degree of legal protection to a person who is not willing to give evidence against his/her partner who is accused in criminal proceedings. The legal framework on cohabitation tends to be more fragmented than the one on marriage and registered partnership. However, the general trend seems to suggest that, once a legislature or judiciary starts including the testimonial privilege as a legal consequence of different-sex cohabitation, such right is later extended to same-sex couples.