Facts
[A.], born in 1950, and Mrs. [A.], born in 1960, were married in 1986 and had a daughter, S., born in 1989. On 20 January 1998, the Court of First Instance of Geneva issued a protective order for the marital union, noting that cohabitation had ceased at the beginning of November 1997. By judgment of 31 May 1999, the same Court granted the divorce of the spouses [A.] and settled the ancillary effects. Ruling on the defendant's appeal, the Civil Chamber of the Court of Justice of the Canton of Geneva confirmed the judgment of the court of first instance, applying the new divorce law under Art. 7b para. 1 tit. fin. CC. The Federal Tribunal admitted the appeal for reform filed by the defendant and dismissed all of the plaintiff's claims.Considerations
According to case law, Art. 115 CC, which establishes a subsidiary ground for divorce in relation to that of Art. 114 CC, must be interpreted more restrictively than the former Art. 142 CC. A spouse can only unilaterally request divorce on the basis of Art. 115 CC when, for serious reasons not attributable to them, it cannot reasonably be expected that they continue the marriage - i.e. maintain the marital bond - during the four years of separation that would allow them to obtain divorce on the basis of Art. 114 CC.
In the present case, the elements considered by the cantonal judges, such as the…