Facts
The case concerns a married couple, R. (the husband) and S. (the wife), who married on 16 January 1998. Their union remained childless. However, the wife gave birth to a child, E., on 29 March 2002, whose biological father is her new partner with whom she has been living since 1 October 2001. The president of the Baden district court rendered a decision on 17 May 2002, authorizing the spouses to live separately and entrusting the child's care to the mother. The husband was ordered to pay child support and contribute to the wife's maintenance.
The husband appealed this decision to the cantonal court, which annulled the provisions relating to child support and modified the contribution to the wife's maintenance. The husband then filed a subsidiary constitutional appeal with the Federal Court, alleging a violation of the prohibition of reformatio in pejus and an arbitrary decision regarding the duration of the transition period for the wife to resume gainful employment after the child's birth.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the husband's grievances and found that the cantonal court had violated the prohibition of reformatio in pejus by increasing the contribution to the wife's maintenance without the wife having filed a cross-appeal. The Federal Court considered that the wife's and child's claims are distinct and that the contribution to the wife's maintenance is governed by the maxim of disposition, which means that the husband may request the amount he deems appropriate for his personal maintenance.
Regarding the duration of the transition period for the wife to resume gainful employment, the Federal Court estimated that the cantonal court had…