Paragraph 5: Provisions specific to divorce on grounds of permanent impairment of the marriage bond

Subject to the provisions of Article 472, the court may not raise of its own motion the plea that the one-year period provided for in the first paragraph of article 238 of the Civil Code.

Where the application for divorce is based on the definitive alteration of the marriage bond under the conditions provided for in article 238, paragraph 2, of the Civil Code, the decision ruling on the principle of divorce may not be made before the expiry of the one-year period and subject to the last paragraph of article 238.

The costs of the proceedings shall be borne by the spouse who initiated them, unless the judge orders otherwise.