Facts
X., born in 1944, recognized the child Z., born in 1994 to Y. in 1994. X. and Y. married in 1995 but divorced in 2008. In 2008, X. accidentally learned that he was not the biological father of Z. and then filed an action to contest the paternity recognition. The court of first instance granted his request, but the cantonal court dismissed the action as time-barred.
X. appealed to the Federal Tribunal, which granted his appeal. The Federal Court considered that X. had acted with the required diligence as soon as he became aware of the grounds for restitution of the time limit, and that the child's interest did not constitute an additional condition for admitting the restitution of the time limit.
Considerations
According to Art. 260c para. 3 CC, an action to contest paternity recognition can be brought after the expiry of the statutory time limit if there are just grounds that excuse the delay. The case law interprets the notion of "just grounds" strictly, requiring the plaintiff to act with the utmost diligence as soon as the cause of the delay has ended.
In this case, the Federal Tribunal considered that X. had acted with the required diligence, having taken the necessary steps to legalize the foreign document establishing his non-paternity within a reasonable time, before filing…