Promulgation in the
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
canon law is the publication of a law by which it is made known publicly, and is required by
canon law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
for the law to obtain legal effect. Universal
laws
Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...
are promulgated when they are published in ''
Acta Apostolicae Sedis
''Acta Apostolicae Sedis'' (Latin for "Acts of the Apostolic See"), often cited as ''AAS'', is the official gazette of the Holy See, appearing about twelve times a year.Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ), ...
'', and unless specified to the contrary,
obtain legal force three months after promulgation.
[Canon 8 §1, ]1983 Code of Canon Law
The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current comp ...
Particular laws are promulgated in various ways but by default take effect one month after promulgation.
[Canon 8 §2, ]1983 Code of Canon Law
The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current comp ...
Definition and nature
Promulgation is the act by which the legislator manifests to those subject to his jurisdiction the decision that he has made and makes known to them his intention to bind them to the observance of his law.
[Metz, René. ''What is Canon Law?'', pg. 41.]
Without having been promulgated, the canonical law in question has no legal effect, since promulgation is "an essential factor of legislation" and "an absolute condition for the effectiveness of a law".
[
Promulgation is a "formal and fundamental element"][Della Rocca, Fernando. ''Manual of Canon Law'', pg. 70.] of canon law. For the purposes of canonical jurisprudence, promulgation is equivalent to publication.[
Once promulgation takes place, a canonical law acquires its last "essential condition" and takes immediate effect,][Abbo & Hannan, ''Sacred Canons'', pg. 16 (commentary on canon 8, 1917 CIC)] subject to the ''vacatio legis
''Vacatio legis'' ( la, absence of law) is a technical term in law which designates the period between the announcement of a legislation and its entering into force.
This concept also exists in the Catholic canon law.Fernando della Rocca, "Manua ...
'' imposed by universal law, or by the particular legislator issuing a law (see section below).
The nature of promulgation in its relation to the nature of canon law is a matter of discussion among canonical writers. Some canonists hold that promulgation as such "enters the very essence of the law",[ while Abbo & Hannan hold what they assert to be "the more probable opinion that promulgation is merely an extrinsic essential condition ''sine qua non''."][
]
Legal requirements
Universal & particular law
A law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
issued by the Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
(or with his consent in the case of laws issued by an ecumenical council
An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote are ...
or congregation
A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship.
Congregation may also refer to:
*Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship
*Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...
) is promulgated when it is published in ''Acta Apostolicae Sedis
''Acta Apostolicae Sedis'' (Latin for "Acts of the Apostolic See"), often cited as ''AAS'', is the official gazette of the Holy See, appearing about twelve times a year.Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ), ...
'', and by default has the force of law
In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a p ...
three calendar months[De Meester, ''Juris Canonici Compendium'', v. 1, pg. 176.] after promulgation.[
Particular laws, issued by bishops and particular councils, are promulgated in various ways but, unless specified to the contrary, take effect one calendar month][
]
''Vacatio legis''
In principle, a law becomes binding from the time of its promulgation. But because there are often reasons that the immediate efficacy of a law would be detrimental to those upon whom it enjoins, the legislator often orders a delay—''vacatio''—in the law's applicability. In Latin canon law, the ''vacatio legis'' is three months for universal laws,[Canon 8 §1](_blank)
/ref> and one month for particular laws,[Canon 8 §2](_blank)
/ref> unless the law itself establishes a longer or shorter period of time. The legislator of the law can stipulate a longer or shorter time of '' vacatio'' than that which is stipulated generally.[
]
Computation of time
Months are computed according to the calendar from the date of publication.[ A "canonical month" (in contradistinction to a "calendar month") is a period of 30 days, while a "calendar month" is a continuous month. The '']vacatio legis
''Vacatio legis'' ( la, absence of law) is a technical term in law which designates the period between the announcement of a legislation and its entering into force.
This concept also exists in the Catholic canon law.Fernando della Rocca, "Manua ...
'' is computed according to the calendar; for example, if a law is promulgated on 2 November, and the ''vacatio legis'' is 3 months, then the law takes effect on 2 February.[ So a universal law has a '']vacatio legis
''Vacatio legis'' ( la, absence of law) is a technical term in law which designates the period between the announcement of a legislation and its entering into force.
This concept also exists in the Catholic canon law.Fernando della Rocca, "Manua ...
'' of approximately 90 days—3 months taken according to the calendar—while a particular law has a ''vacatio legis'' of approximately 30 days—1 month taken according to the calendar—unless specified to the contrary.
History
According to Canon 7 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law
The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current comp ...
, ''Lex instituitur cum promulgatur'' ("A law is instituted when it is promulgated"). This is an ancient provision in Latin-rite canon law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
, dating in its plural form to the Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
formulation of the great twelfth-century codifier of canon law, Gratian
Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and wa ...
: ''Leges instituuntur cum promulgantur'' ("Laws are instituted when they are promulgated"). The exact same formulation found in Gratian's '' Decretum'' was reproduced in the 1917 Code of Canon Law
The 1917 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1917 CIC, from its Latin title ), also referred to as the Pio-Benedictine Code,Dr. Edward Peters accessed June-9-2013 was the first official comprehensive codification of Latin canon law.
Ordered ...
,[Canon 8, ]1917 Code of Canon Law
The 1917 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1917 CIC, from its Latin title ), also referred to as the Pio-Benedictine Code,Dr. Edward Peters accessed June-9-2013 was the first official comprehensive codification of Latin canon law.
Ordered ...
while the Latin plural of the original was modified to its singular form (''Leges'' to ''Lex'', ''instituuntur'' to ''instituitur'', and ''promulgantur'' to ''promulgatur'').
In previous times laws issued by the Holy See were affixed to the Basilica of St. John Lateran
The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...
, the Basilica of St. Peter
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a Church (building), church built in the Renaissance architecture, Renaissanc ...
, the Palace of the Apostolic Chancery, and in the Campo dei Fiori. Since the laws had been posted publicly in the city (Urbi), they were deemed to have been promulgated to the world (Orbi).[ The current method of promulgating universal laws—publishing them in the ''Acta Apostolicae Sedis''—was introduced by Pope Pius X with the apostolic constitution ''Promulgandi'' of 29 September 1908, and was confirmed by the 1917 Code.][
A recent trend is to promulgate universal laws independently of their publication in the ''Acta Apostolicæ Sedis'', with the ''Acta'' remaining the source for their official Latin text.][Coriden, James A., ''et al.'', ''The Code of Canon Law: A Text and Commentary'', pg. 30 (commentary on Canon 8).] In general, the Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
does not give its assent to translations of the Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
originals (so-called "'authentic' translations"[); the Holy See is content to publish the Latin alone, as Latin is the official language of canon law.][
]
Promulgation in general
(Lat. ''promulgare,'' to make known, to post in public).
This is the act by which the legislative power makes legislative enactments known to the authorities entrusted with their execution and to the subjects bound to observe them. Philosophically it is a matter of dispute whether promulgation is of the essence of a law. It seems indisputable that the essential element of a law is the will of the legislator, but it is clear that the legislator should make known his will and intention in one way or another. This manifestation is the promulgation of the law, which is not necessarily distinct from the very elaboration of the law, provided that this takes place by external acts-such as the vote of a legislative assembly or by royal sanction. Such is the practice observed in England and in most of the states of the American Union, but, as it was thought too severe, the legislation of various countries requires the promulgation of laws by a special formal act, through which the text of the law is made known to the community, e.g. by publication of this text in an official journal or bulletin of the Government. Previous to this publication the law does not take effect. The promulgation of a law must not be confounded with its publication, the object of the first being to make known the will of the legislator, of the second to spread the knowledge of legislative enactments among subjects bound to observe them.
Promulgation in canon law
The Church has long exacted the promulgation of a law by a special act of the authorities: "Leges instituuntur cum promulgantur", a law is not really a law until it has been made known, says Gratian (Decretum Gratiani, pt. I, c. 3, dist. VII). However, no special form is prescribed for acts of ecclesiastical authorities inferior to the pope, even synodal decrees being considered sufficiently promulgated by being read in the synod. The Constitution "Promulgandi" of Pius X (29 September 1908) determined the ordinary method of promulgating pontifical laws, namely by the insertion of the text of the law in the "Acta Apostolica Sedis" (the official publication of the Holy See), after the insertion has been ordered by the secretary or the supreme authority of the congregation or the office through the medium of which the pope has passed the law. A regulation of 5 January 1910, divides the official bulletin of the Holy See into two parts: in the first or official part should be inserted all documents requiring promulgation to have the force of law; the second merely serves to illustrate and supplement the first (Acta Apost. Sedis, 1910, p. 36). However, the pope explicitly reserves the right to determine in exceptional cases another method of promulgation. Prior to this law two systems had been chiefly in use in the Church-provincial promulgation, until the end of the thirteenth century, and Roman promulgation. During the first period promulgation often took place in the different ecclesiastical provinces either through special envoys or through the bishops. Nevertheless, it is also a fact that laws binding in one province were also binding in others. During the second period the custom, which became exclusive during the fifteenth century, developed of having the new laws read and posted up by ''cursores'' at Rome only, at the doors of the great basilicas, the Palazzo Cancellaria, the Campo de' fiori, and sometimes at the Capitol. The value of this means of promulgation was disputed in modern times: some claimed that the Church had admitted the arrangements of Novels lxvi and cxvi of Justinian, which required provincial promulgation for some laws; others maintained that in theory publication at Rome was sufficient, but that the popes did not wish to bind the faithful before the laws were made known to them by the bishops; while others appealed to ancient customs, to which the pope should conform. This last theory, made use of by the Gallicans and Febronianists, furnished the State with a pretext for preventing the promulgation of laws which it did not like. A special method of promulgation was also introduced with the express or tacit consent of the Holy See for the decrees of congregations; they were published at the secretariate of the dicasteries from which they emanated.
References
Bibliography
*Abbo, John A., and Jerome D. Hannan, ''The Sacred Canons: A Concise Presentation of the Current Disciplinary Norms of the Church, Volume I (Canons 1-869 917 CIC'' (St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1952).
*Coriden, James A., Thomas J. Green, Donald E. Heintschel (editors). '' The Code of Canon Law: A Text and Commentary'' (New York: Paulist Press, 1985). Commissioned by the Canon Law Society of America
The Canon Law Society of America or CLSA is a professional association dedicated to the promotion of both the study and the application of canon law in the Catholic Church. The Society's membership includes over fifteen hundred men and women who ...
.
*Della Rocca, Fernando. ''Manual of Canon Law'' (Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1959). Translated by the Rev. Anselm Thatcher, O.S.B.
*De Meester, A. ''Juris Canonici et Juris Canonico-Civilis Compendium: Nova Editio, Ad Normam Codicis Juris Canonici—Tomus Primus'' (Brugis: Societatis Sancti Augustini, 1921).
*Metz, René. ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960). Translated from the French by Michael Derrick.
*Taunton, Ethelred Luke. ''The Law of the Church: A Cyclopedia of Canon Law for English-speaking Countries'' (K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Company, Limited, 1906). Accessed vi
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{{catholic, wstitle=Promulgation, author=A. Van Hove
Jurisprudence of Catholic canon law
Promulgation
Catholic Church legal terminology