Facts
The Dutch husband and the Irish wife married in 1998 in [A.] and lived there together. They have three children born between 1998 and 2001. The wife now lives with the children in England, while the husband continues to reside in A.
On 25 January 2006, the husband filed a conciliation request with the District President in [A.] and petitioned for divorce based on Art. 114 or 115 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB). In May 2006, the wife filed a divorce petition in London.
On 1 February 2007, the District Court [B.] dismissed the wife's plea of lack of local jurisdiction and essentially proceeded with the husband's divorce petition.
By decision of 12 July 2007, the District Court [B.] rejected the wife's plea that the husband had no grounds for divorce and set him a deadline to respond to the wife's substantive statement of defense.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court considers the appeal admissible, as it is an interim decision against which an appeal can be filed pursuant to Art. 93 para. 1 lit. b of the Federal Supreme Court Act (BGG). The requirements of this provision are met, as the granting of the appeal would save a significant amount of time and cost for an extensive evidentiary proceeding.
On the merits, the Federal Supreme Court dismisses the appeal. It considers it…