Vigilance Over the Proper Administration of Justice. II. The Apostolic Signatura

This article draws upon the 2016 Circular Letter entitled Inter munera from the Apostolic Signatura (concerning the status and activities of tribunals) in order to describe the work of vigilance that this Supreme Tribunal undertakes regarding the proper administration of justice. This competency is examined both in a broad aspect (i.e. the promotion of the proper administration of justice) and in a narrow aspect (i.e. one that is characterized by inspection and discipline). The modalities and limits of this oversight are determined by the logic of subsidiarity (given that the diocesan bishop holds this same responsibility for vigilance within his own particular Church) as well as by the necessity of interventions called for by concrete circumstances that may be facing local tribunals.

Keywords: oversight; Apostolic Signatura; diocesan bishop.