Divorce cases are matters that are generally accompanied by the greatest, sometimes extreme, emotions of both parties. It is not uncommon that the decision to divorce is made on impulse, because of offended pride or strained trust. When the emotions subside, it turns out that the parties in principle would be ready to try to reconcile, but the matter has already gone to court, and since A has been said, B should also be said....
And here comes to the aid of the legislator, who, under the provision of Article 440 of the Code of Civil Procedure, equipped the court with the power to suspend proceedings already in progress. According to the wording of the aforementioned provision, If the court becomes convinced that there are prospects for the maintenance of conjugal life, it will suspend the proceedings. Such suspension may occur only once during the course of the proceedings. As pointed out by the Supreme Court in its resolution of February 27, 1979 in case number III CZP 5/79, the above-mentioned provision can be applied only if the court comes to the conclusion that, although there are legal grounds for declaring divorce, however, due to the specific situation of the marriage in question, it can be assumed that there is a chance to change the attitude of the spouses. In order to take advantage of this chance for the sake of the spouses and children, the court may refrain from issuing a - legally justified - judgment declaring divorce and suspend the proceedings.
Resumption of the proceedings shall be made at the request of one of the parties, filed no earlier than three months after the suspension of the proceedings. If no such motion is filed within one year after the suspension, the proceedings will be discontinued. The same effect will occur if the proceedings are suspended and not taken up in the event of an unexcused failure of the plaintiff to appear at the first court session set for trial, and also if a concerted motion to suspend the proceedings is made by the parties themselves.
As indicated in the literature, the prospects for the maintenance of conjugal life, which is the premise for the suspension of proceedings under Article 440 of the Code of Civil Procedure, is nothing more than the court's assumption that the decay of marriage has not yet occurred. Suspension on this basis can occur only once during the course of the trial, which makes it necessary for the court to examine the premises justifying such a decision with particular care. While the court should, in due course, urge the parties to reconcile, exercising the power to suspend the proceedings prematurely may result in the court itself depriving itself of this opportunity when real chances for reconciliation between the parties actually arise. It is worth remembering, however, that suspending the proceedings for the reasons indicated in Article 440 of the Code of Civil Procedure and then taking them up, does not prevent the proceedings from being suspended again - at the concerted request of the parties.
