Dismissal of the constitutional complaint against provisional measures during divorce proceedings

Facts

The complainant, [A.] , and the respondent, [B.] , are married and have four sons. In 2003, they regulated their separation and assigned the marital property to the husband. The President of the District Court of Appenzell approved this agreement. In 2004, the President of the District Court of Appenzell issued provisional measures, including the regulation of child custody and the determination of maintenance contributions. The husband applied for the revocation of these measures and complained that the determination of the property income was unconstitutional.

The parties

• Complainant: [A.] (husband)
• Respondent: [B.] (wife)
• Court: District Court of Appenzell, President as sole judge

Considerations

The Federal Court examined the constitutional complaint of the husband and found that the President of the District Court had rightly taken the provisional measures during the divorce proceedings. The husband had not provided evidence that the circumstances relevant to the marital protection decision had changed significantly and permanently.

The Federal Court also found that the husband had not sufficiently proven his efforts to keep the apartments rented and that the maintenance contributions determined by the President of the District Court were not obviously unsustainable. The…