Facts
Y. and X. were married on June 17, 2000 in Germany. They live separately, with the separation occurring no earlier than May 21, 2010. On May 18, 2012, the wife Y. filed for divorce at the District Court of Brugg. The husband X. requested that the proceedings be limited to compliance with the time limit under Art. 114 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB) and that the claim be dismissed due to non-compliance with the time limit. He pointed out that he had filed for divorce himself on June 2, 2012 based on Art. 114 ZGB at the Regional Court of Bern-Mittelland.
The District Court of Brugg limited the proceedings to the question of compliance with the separation period under Art. 114 ZGB. After an unsuccessful conciliation hearing, it ruled in an interim decision of September 25, 2012 that the procedural requirements for conducting the divorce proceedings before the District Court of Brugg were met, as the husband had filed for divorce himself based on Art. 114 ZGB, thereby expressing his intention to divorce, and the proceedings were to be continued in accordance with the provisions on divorce by mutual consent under Art. 292 para. 1 of the Swiss Civil Procedure Code (ZPO).
The husband appealed against this interim decision, which the High Court of the Canton of Aargau dismissed with a judgment of March 27, 2013.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that according to Art. 292 para. 1 ZPO, the unilaterally filed divorce petition is to be continued according to the provisions on divorce by mutual consent if the spouses have not been living separately for at…