An exequatur (Latin, literally "let it execute") is a legal document issued by a sovereign authority that permits the exercise or enforcement of a right within the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...

of the authority.

International relations

An exequatur is a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

which a

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

issues to a foreign

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

, guaranteeing the consul's rights and privileges of office and ensuring recognition in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

to which the consul is appointed to exercise such powers. If a consul is not appointed by commission, the consul receives no exequatur; the government will usually provide some other means to recognize the consul. An exequatur may be withdrawn, which necessitates a consul's recall.

Catholic Canon Law

An exequatur is a

legal instrument Legal instrument is a legal term of art that is used for any formally executed written document that can be formally attributed to its author, records and formally expresses a legally enforceable act, process, or contractual duty, obligation, or ...

issued by secular authorities in Roman Catholic nations to guarantee the legal force of papal decrees within the jurisdiction of the secular authority. This custom began during the

Western Schism The Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism, the Vatican Standoff, the Great Occidental Schism, or the Schism of 1378 (), was a split within the Catholic Church lasting from 1378 to 1417 in which bishops residing in Rome and Avignon b ...

, when the legitimately elected

Supreme Pontiff 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 ...

permitted secular leaders to verify the authenticity of papal decrees before enforcing them. Some dissidents in the church claim that the custom arose as an implication of the nature of secular authority over the church, and that such a state privilege to verify papal doctrine had been exercised since the early days of the church. However, church doctrine denies that any permission from secular authority is necessary for papal decrees to be legally effective, even though secular authorities sometimes do not enforce them.

Other uses

In Brazilian, Romanian, French, Luxembourgian, Italian (via the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much ...

), Mexican, and Spanish laws, an exequatur is a judgment of a

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...

that a decision issued by a foreign tribunal is to be executed in the jurisdiction of the former, thereby granting authority to the decision of the foreign tribunal as if it issued from the native tribunal. In

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, an exequatur is a document that validates a

court order A court order is an official proclamation by a judge (or panel of judges) that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out ...

of a United States civil court as if a court of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico issued it.''Madre boricua clama por ayuda para recuperar a su hijo: El padre del menor amenaza con que no devolverá el pequeño que se encuentra en Nuevo México. Diferentes entidades gubernamentales se pasan mutuamente la responsabilidad.''
Jessica Ríos Viner. El Nuevo Dia. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.

References

{{Diplomacy Diplomatic documents Canon law history Jurisprudence of Catholic canon law Latin legal terminology