Spousal Intent as Sole Requirement for Judicial Separation

The appellate court determined that, under the revised divorce law, the sole requirement for approving judicial separation under Article 175 of the Civil Code is the unequivocal and irrevocable will of one spouse to separate. This view, aligning with recent legal commentary and cantonal precedent, broadens the interpretation of the prior requirement that continued cohabitation must seriously endanger the spouse's personality, particularly when one spouse seeks divorce but the other resists, leaving separation as the only viable intermediate step toward a potential future divorce under Article 114. In this case, the applicant's definitive statement of intent, evidenced by her securing a separate residence, satisfied this standard for granting separation.