Definitions Flashcards
Ius canonicum
that which is just in the Church
A law
a general and abstract written norm by which the legislator provides for the common good of the community entrusted to his care
To promulgate
to cause to emerge into public view
Gratian on promulgation
laws are established when they are promulgated, they are strengthened when they are approved by the deeds of those who comply with it
Liturgical laws
those binding the ministers and participants in the rites and ceremonies; the prescribed words, actions, materials to be used
Who are bound by merely ecclesiastical laws (Canon 11)?
Merely ecclesiastical laws bind those who have been baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it, possess the sufficient use of reason, and, unless the law expressly provides otherwise, have completed seven years of age.
How are ecclesiastical laws to be understood (Canon 17)?
in accord with the proper meaning of the words considered in their text and context.
What is text?
The wording of the law
What is context?
the words and sentences in the order and connection which they have with one another
What is penal legality?
nulla poena, sine lege.
A lacuna legis is resolved in light of what four things (c. 19)?
1- laws issued in similar matters,
2- general principles of law applied with canonical equity,
3- the jurisprudence and practice of the Roman Curia, and
4- the common and constant opinion of learned persons.
What is a custom of fact?
the repeated and continuous behavior of a community
What is a legal custom?
an unwritten law obliging persons to do/omit something, introduced by long-continued, free and public acts of a community, with the approbation, express, tacit, or presumed of its lawgiver.
What is canonical administrative law?
the branch of canon law that regulates the composition and activity of the public ecclesiastical administration and the means of challenging its acts, in view of fostering just social relationships and directing the Church, in concrete circumstances, toward her ultimate end
What is a general executory decree?
A norm which more precisely determines methods of applying legislation or urges its observance
What is an instruction?
A document which clarifies the prescripts of laws and elaborates on and determines the methods to be observed in fulfilling them.
What is a singular administrative act?
a unilateral, juridical act of one endowed with the requisite executive power of governance that creates, modifies or extinguishes a subjective juridical situation in a particular case
What are the four types of singular administrative act?
- singular administrative decree that makes a decision
- singular precept
- singular administrative decree that makes a provision
- rescript
What is a singular administrative decree that makes a decision?
A (broadly) coercive act by which the public ecclesiastical administration brings about a change in the juridical condition of a person or institute
What is a singular precept?
A singular administrative act (a decree) which enjoins a person/persons to do or omit something; usually telling them to conform to the law.
What are the three kinds/objects of precepts?
(1) order, positive command (simple precept)
(2) prohibition, negative command (simple precept)
(3) establish a delict (penal precept)
What is a singular administrative decree that makes a provision?
A singular administrative act that advances the common good by bringing about a positive juridical development in the community or in the condition of public persons.
What is a rescript?
A singular administrative act issued in writing by competent executive authority; of its very nature, a rescript grants a privilege, dispensation, or other favor at someone’s request.
What is a favor?
a benign concession for the benefit of its recipient
What is a dispensation?
the relaxation of a merely ecclesiastical law in a particular case (‘wounding’ of the law)
What is a privilege?
a favor provided contra or praeter legem
What is a licentia?
A permission/authorization which is the content of either a singular administrative decree that makes a provision or of a rescript
How are doubtful laws to be interpreted (Canon 17)?
recourse must be made:
1- to parallel places, if there are such, 2- to the purpose and circumstances of the law, and
3- to the mind of the legislator.
What is a general norm?
A rule which applies to every area of the law; what is identifiable in any law.
What are the steps in the legislative process?
1- identification of a need
2- work of a drafting commission
3- external consultation
4- revision
5- submission of draft to legislator
6- if required, voting and hierarchical approval
5 principles of canonical administrative law
1- principle of good governance
2- principle of cooperation
3- principle of discretion (prudence)
4- principle of legality
5- principle of responsibility
What are the three kinds of public ecclesiastical administration?
1- organs of active administration
2- consultative organs
3- organs of control
What are the two main activities of the public ecclesiastical administration?
Administrative norms and singular administrative acts.
3 types of administrative norm
1- General executory decree
2- instruction
3- independent administrative norms (like statutes, rules of order)
What are the four categories of indispensable law?
Laws essentially constitutive of institutes/acts; procedural law; penal law; reserved laws
What is an ecclesiastical office (c. 145 §1)?
An ecclesiastical office is any function (munus) constituted in a stable manner by divine or ecclesiastical ordinance to be exercised for a spiritual purpose.
What is a juridic person?
An artificial person distinct from its substrate (persons or things), established by ecclesiastical authority for an apostolic purpose, with the capacity for continuous existence, with its own rights/obligations at canon law and accountable to canon law.
