The Reorganisation of the Administration of Justice after the Motu Proprio Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus. A Decade of Experience of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

Ten years after the reform of the marriage-nullity process enacted by the motu proprio Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus and Mitis et misericors Iesus, this study examines the experience of the Apostolic Signatura in governing the reorganisation of tribunals. Following the structure of can. 1673, the author reconstructs the Supreme Tribunal’s interpretation of the diocesan bishop’s prerogative to establish his own tribunal and of the Apostolic See’s continuing oversight of the erection of interdiocesan tribunals, prorogations of competence, and the designation of the appellate forum. A second part draws on archival material to illustrate the practice developed by the Signatura across differing configurations — diocesan, regional, and provincial tribunals — showing how the post-MIDI decade reveals a dialectic between continuity and change, between the bishop’s aspiration to his own tribunal and the need for a s judicial framework at the service of the faithful.

Keywords: establishment and approval of interdiocesan tribunals; recognitio of the same; prorogation of competence; designation of the appellate forum; vigilance.

Proposals for amendments to certain canons in relation to the Final Document of the XVI Assembly of the Synod of Bishops

The article presents proposed amendments to thirty canons of the Code of Canon Law in relation to the Final Document of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. After an introduction regarding the work of the Canon Law Commission, the individual canons are presented in relation to three themes: The laity: men and women; Episcopal Conferences and particular Councils; Participation bodies: accountability and evaluation. The first theme includes canons 275; 212; 749; 476; 483; 1112; 230; 208; 463; 1421; 1425; the second, canons 450; 440; 443; 446; the third, canons 127; 391; 399; 461; 466; 403; 473; 493; 495; 500; 511; 512; 514; 536; 537. The author cites the numbers from the Final Document that call for these modifications and the canons of the Code, showing what is consequently proposed as an amendment, addition, or suppression. A commentary is provided for each canon, more or less extensive depending on the cases, to explain the reason for the proposals put forward.

Parole chiave: equal dignity of the faithful; charisms; listening; discernment; consultative vote; participation; accountability; evaluation.

The Rescission of the Juridical Act. Harmonies and Asymmetries with Related Institutes

This contribution builds on an analysis of the evolution of the general theory of the juridical act in canon law, highlighting how doctrine has overcome its initial reflective deficit to focus on the constitutive profiles, defects, and validity of the act itself. Within this landscape, however, the institute of rescission has remained on the margins of scholarly debate. Through a comparative method and a definition “by negative way”, this study distinguishes rescission from related legal figures such as revocation, declaration of nullity, annulment, resolution, and sanation. “On a positive way”, the article maps the codicial cases of rescindibility and, supported by the jurisprudence of the Apostolic Signatura, proposes an extensive interpretation thereof. Rescission is thus configured as a constitutive remedy protecting the faithful against a valid act that is nonetheless affected by illegality or injustice, thereby enhancing its nature as an equi tool. 

Keywords: juridical act; remedies against the act; rescission.

Fontes cognoscendi of the Jurisprudence of the Apostolic Signatura

The article has been conceived with the aim of presenting an over of the legislation underlying the publication of the jurisprudence of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, both ante Codicem of 1917 and ante and post Codicem of 1983, leading up to contemporary initiatives for the collection and dissemination of the jurisprudence of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.

Keywords: Jurisprudence; Sources; Journals; Collectanea; Ministerium Iustitiae; Conspectus.