Can I request a DNA test on the father of my twins?

Can I request a DNA test on the father of my twins?

My partner left me just as I was about to give birth to our twin daughters. Since they were born, he has refused to have any contact with me, especially to help me provide for them. He seems to have doubts about whether he is the children's father. Can I force him to submit to a DNA test and pay me alimony for our daughters?

An acquaintance of Julie's

Under Swiss law, if the mother is married, her husband is automatically considered to be the child's father. If the biological father is not married to the mother, the child must be recognised by the Civil Status Office before or after birth.

As you may have read in today's "L'encre bleue", if the father refuses, the mother and child may both - together or separately, with the help of a curator in the case of a child who is a minor and incapable of discernment - institute legal proceedings for recognition of paternity, together with a claim for maintenance (for the child) and compensation for expenses incurred during pregnancy and childbirth (for the mother).

In other words, they can ask the judge to recognise the parent-child relationship and to set a financial contribution to be paid by the father. In Geneva, the Civil Court of First Instance has jurisdiction to conduct such proceedings. The child has a much longer time limit and can bring an action up until the end of the year following his or her majority, so as not to be placed in a delicate situation - in particular possible emotional blackmail - during his or her young age.

As far as the applicable rules are concerned, paternity tests being a fairly recent invention, it should be remembered that for at least half a century the Swiss Civil Code has provided that the father of a child is presumed to be the person who cohabited with the mother between the three hundredth and the one hundred and eightieth day before birth, or the person who cohabited with the mother at the time of conception (if the child was conceived before or after that period). This presumption ceases only when the defendant proves that his paternity is excluded or less likely than that of a third party.

In an action for recognition, the mother and/or child must first make this cohabitation plausible. The judge may then order the father to undergo a DNA test to establish parentage scientifically. Last summer, the Federal Court confirmed that the parties must undergo the necessary tests, provided that their health is not endangered. Therefore, barring exceptions, the presumed father must submit to a DNA test (regardless of the technical method used) ordered by a judge, since this examination only slightly affects his bodily integrity.