A ''determinatio'' is an authoritative determination by the

legislator A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

concerning the application of practical principles, that is not necessitated by deduction from

natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

Finnis, John. ''Aquinas'', 266-271. or

divine law Divine law is any body of law that is perceived as deriving from a transcendent source, such as the will of God or godsin contrast to man-made law or to secular law. According to Angelos Chaniotis and Rudolph F. Peters, divine laws are typicall ...

Hervada, ''Introduction'', pg. 33 but is based on the contingencies of practical judgement within the possibilities allowed by reason. The concept derives from the

legal philosophy Philosophy of law is a branch of philosophy that examines the nature of law and law's relationship to other systems of norms, especially ethics and political philosophy. It asks questions like "What is law?", "What are the criteria for legal val ...

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...

, and continues to be a part of discussions in natural law theory. In

natural law Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...

jurisprudence, ''determinatio'' is the process of making natural law into positive law.Waldron, Jeremy
''Torture, Suicide, and Determinatio'' main page
Social Science Research Network. Accessed 22 March 2016. In

Catholic canon law The canon law of the Catholic Church ("canon law" comes from Latin ') is "how the Church organizes and governs herself". It is the legal system, system of laws and canon law, ecclesiastical legal principles made and enforced by the Hierarchy of the ...

, ''determinatio'' is the act by which natural law or divine positive law is made determinate in the canonical legal system as specific norms of law, although the content of such law is still essentially that of divine law, which, together with canon law, forms "a single juridical system of law".Hervada, ''Introduction'', pg. 34

Catholic canon law

''Determinatio'' is a legal doctrine in the

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

of the canon law of the

Catholic Church 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 ...

. It was imported from the legal philosophy of

.Hervada, ''Introduction'', pg. 34 (citing '' Summa Theologiæ'
Ia-IIæ q.95 a.3
The general norms of divine or natural law serve as "shaping factors" and "a necessary basis" for the human-made canon law, but such general norms in themselves cannot have a greater legal effect until they are made into specific human laws, since the norms of divine law are "general and non-specific". But in the movement from the general to the concrete, there are sometimes many possibilities; that is, divine or natural law can be made concrete in many different ways, and all the legitimate alternatives are in line with the requirements of divine law. Wherefore the legislator must make a ''determinatio'' and "opt or choose among them".

References

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Bibliography

*Finnis, John. ''Aquinas: Moral, Political, and Legal Theory'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998). *Hervada, Javier. ''Introduction to the Study of Canon Law'' (Montréal: Wilson & Lafleur Ltée, 2007). *Waldron, Jeremy (New York University School of Law)
''Torture, Suicide, and Determinatio''
American Journal of Jurisprudence, Vol. 55, 2010; NYU School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 10-86. Jurisprudence of Catholic canon law Thomistic jurisprudence Natural law Latin legal terminology Theories of law Catholic Church legal terminology