Facts
A. and B., both nationals of the Czech Republic, married in their home country in 1990. Towards the end of 2012, they separated, with B. living in Switzerland and A. in the Czech Republic. By a judgment dated January 28, 2014, a district court in the Czech Republic dissolved the marriage under Czech law. It did not regulate the ancillary consequences of the divorce.
On January 22, 2014, B. filed a lawsuit with the Regional Court of Oberland for divorce and regulation of the ancillary consequences of the divorce in Switzerland. Simultaneously, she applied for various provisional measures, including the obligation of A. to pay maintenance for the year prior to the filing of the lawsuit and "until the final judgment becomes legally binding."
The Regional Court initially dismissed the request for provisional measures, but was corrected by the High Court of the Canton of Bern, which upheld B.'s appeal. In the renewed decision of April 28, 2016, the Regional Court ordered A. to pay monthly maintenance to B. from the date of the divorce for the duration of the main proceedings.
Both parties appealed against this decision to the High Court. Partially upholding B.'s appeal, the High Court ordered A. to pay maintenance to B. from January 22, 2013 and for the duration of the main proceedings.
A. filed a civil law appeal with the Federal Supreme Court and requested the dismissal of the application for provisional maintenance.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court first notes that the Hague Maintenance Convention (HMC) must be applied to determine the applicable law. According to Art. 8(1) HMC, the law applied to the divorce is decisive for the maintenance obligations between the divorced spouses and the modification of…