Divorce proceedings between husband and wife

Facts

[X.] and [Y.] were married on 17 June 2000 in Germany. They live separately, with the separation occurring at the earliest on 21 May 2010. On 18 May 2012, the wife [Y.] filed for divorce at the District Court of Brugg. The husband [X.] then requested that the proceedings be limited to compliance with the time limit pursuant to Art. 114 CC and that the claim be dismissed due to non-compliance with the time limit. He pointed out that he had filed for divorce based on Art. 114 CC at the Regional Court of Bern-Mittelland on 2 June 2012.

The District Court of Brugg limited the proceedings to the question of compliance with the separation period pursuant to Art. 114 CC and, in an interim decision dated 25 September 2012, found that the procedural requirements for conducting the divorce proceedings before the District Court of Brugg were met, as the husband had filed for divorce based on Art. 114 CC, thereby expressing his intention to divorce. The husband appealed against this interim decision, which the High Court of the Canton of Aargau dismissed with a judgment dated 27 March 2013.

Considerations

The Federal Court notes that Art. 292 para. 1 CPC is the successor norm to former Art. 116 CC. Unlike former Art. 116 CC, Art. 292 para. 1 CPC no longer refers to an express consent, but rather that the defendant spouse must be "in agreement with the divorce". This agreement can also be manifested in the defendant's own divorce petition. The decisive factor is that there is no doubt that both spouses want the…