The law of Vatican City State consists of many forms, the most important of which is the

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

. The organs of state are governed by the

Fundamental Law of Vatican City State The Fundamental Law of Vatican City State () is the Constitution, main governing legal document of the Vatican City State, Vatican's civil entities. The Fundamental Law has existed since 1929. History The Fundamental Law was first published on ...

. The Code of Penal Procedure governs

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 singl ...

s and the

Lateran Treaty The Lateran Treaty (; ) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between Italy under Victor Emmanuel III and Benito Mussolini and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle the long-standing Roman question. The treaty and ass ...

governs relations with the

Italian Republic Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Canon law

The

is supreme in the civil legal system of Vatican City State. The

Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal on any ecclesiastical matter). In addition, ...

, a

dicastery A dicastery (; ; from ) is the name of some departments in the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest C ...

of the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

and the highest canonical tribunal, is also the final

court of cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...

in the civil legal system of Vatican City State. Its competence includes appeals concerning legal procedure and judicial competence. According to a 2008 law issued by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

, the civil legal system of Vatican City State recognizes canon law as its first source of norms and first principle of interpretation.

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

has stated that principles of canon law are essential to the interpretation and application of the laws of Vatican City State.

Fundamental Law

The

governs the civil government of Vatican City State. The first Fundamental Law of Vatican City was promulgated by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

on 7 June 1929.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

promulgated a new version of the Fundamental Law on 26 November 2000. It obtained the force of law on 22 February 2001, Feast of the

Chair of St. Peter The Chair of Saint Peter (), also known as the Throne of Saint Peter, is a relic conserved in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the sovereign enclave of the Pope inside Rome, Italy. The relic is a wooden throne that tradition claims belonge ...

, and replaced in its entirety the prevoous Law. All the norms in force in Vatican City State which were not in agreement with the new Law were abrogated. In April 2023, Pope Francis promulgated a new Fundamental Law. This new version entered into force the same year.

Curia law

The

apostolic constitution An apostolic constitution () is the most solemn form of legislation issued by the Pope.New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, pg. 57, footnote 36. By their nature, apostolic constitutions are addressed to the public. Generic constitutions use ...

Praedicate evangelium ( English: ''Preach the gospel'') is an apostolic constitution reforming the Roman Curia; it was published and promulgated on 19 March 2022 by Pope Francis, and the document took effect on 5 June 2022. The apostolic constitution was develope ...

'' governs the

which assists the pope in the governance of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Positive civil and penal law

Most of the positive and penal civil law—in contrast to canon law with civil effects—is based on the Italian code from 1889. It was outdated in many ways. This was amended in a major fashion in 2013 to include a number of United Nations Conventions the state has signed over the years, as well as bringing it up to date. The penal code now includes specifics defining

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

, explicit listing of sexual crimes, and violating confidentiality. Since life imprisonment was abolished by

in 2013, the maximum penalty is 30 to 35 years of imprisonment. In 2008, Vatican City announced that it will no longer automatically adopt new Italian laws, as many Italian laws diverge from Catholic doctrine. The announcement came in the wake of conflict over right-to-life issues following the

Eluana Englaro Eluana Englaro (25 November 1970 – 9 February 2009) was an Italian woman from Lecco who entered a persistent vegetative state on 18 January 1992, following a car accident, and subsequently became the focus of a court battle between supporters a ...

case. Existing law provided that Italian laws were accepted automatically except on bilateral treaties or those that have a sharp divergence with basic canon law. Under the new procedure, the Vatican would examine Italian laws before deciding whether to adopt them. However, as the Vatican had not always accepted Italian laws under the old procedure little would change, with one newspaper commentator calling the announcement a "masked warning" to the Italian government. On March 29, 2019, one month after a historic Vatican sex abuse summit was held, Pope Francis issued a new Vatican City law requiring Vatican City officials, including those in the

, and foreign

nuncios An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

affiliated with the Vatican government, to report sex abuse. Failure to do so can result in a fine of up to 5,000 euros (about $5,600) or, in the case of a Vatican gendarme, up to six months in prison. The statute of limitations was also increased from 4 years to 20 years and any Vatican employee found guilty will be dismissed on a mandatory basis. On May 9, 2019, a new law was issued to male and female church workers not just in the Vatican, but throughout the world to disclose any report of sex abuse. In February 2021, Pope Francis amended articles 17, 376, 379 of the penal code of the Vatican. "These changes may affect the Vatican’s impending trial of the 39-year-old Italian woman Cecilia Marogna, who has been accused of embezzlement, which she denies." In April 2021, Pope Francis published an apostolic letter ''

motu proprio In law, (Latin for 'on his own impulse') describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a document issued by the pope on h ...

'' to change some articles so that Vatican City court can judge cardinals and bishops.

International law

Officials of the State of Vatican City have diplomatic immunity under international law. Hence, if they are accused of a crime in their host country, they are ordinarily recalled to the State of Vatican City to face civil trial, and, if applicable, to face canonical trial at the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

(CDF) or competent dicastery. Under the 2022 Apostolic Constitution, however, the authority of the CDF was weakened, and the

Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors is a pontifical commission within the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church instituted by Pope Francis on 22 March 2014 as an advisory agency serving the pope. Since 5 June 2022, the Commission ...

joined the Roman Curia with greater authority as well. A new “super dicastery” which promotes evangelization now serves as the main institution in the Roman Curia.

Judiciary

The judicial system of Vatican City consists of: * a sole judge (''Giudice Unico, Solus Iudex'' or ''Iudex Unicus'') with limited jurisdiction * a tribunal (''tribunale, atrium)'' with four members * the Court of Appeal (''Corte d'Appello, Curia Appellationis)'' with four members * the

Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...

(''Corte di Cassazione, Curia Cassationis)'', which has three members and is the

supreme court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

of the Vatican City State Justice is exercised in the name of the

Supreme Pontiff The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

. In March 2020, it was announced that Pope Francis signed a new ''

'' into law on March 13, 2020, which reforms the Vatican's judicial system. The ''motu proprio'', titled Law CCCLI, updates the laws governing the Vatican's judiciary system and replaced the previous judicial system which was founded in 1987. It provided a head for the Office of the Promoter of Justice (prosecutor's office), and sets out a standardized procedure for possible disciplinary action against certified advocates.

Sole judge and tribunal levels

The sole judge has to be a Vatican citizen and he can simultaneously serve as a member of the tribunal. The tribunal itself consists of a president and three other judges (however, cases are heard in a

curia Curia (: curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally probably had wider powers, they came to meet ...

of three judges). A promoter of justice (''Promotore di Giustizia'') serves as attorney both at the tribunal and at the court of the sole judge. The members of the tribunal, the sole judge and the promoter of justice are all lay jurists and are appointed by the pope. Former members have been for example sole judge Piero Antonio Bonnet or president of the tribunal Giuseppe dalla Torre, who sat in cases concerning the Vatican leaks scandal in 2012 and 2016 respectively. On May 7, 2015,

appointed as a Judge of the Ecclesiastical Court of Vatican City State, Lucio Banerjee, a cleric of the Diocese of Treviso, in

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

, Italy, and Paolo Scevola, of the Diocese of Vigevano, to serve as Notary Actuary of the same court; they are officials of the General Affairs Section of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. On September 30, 2017, Pope Francis named

Denis Baudot Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, Bishop of Győr (13th century), Hungarian prelate * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), baron ...

, an official of the Apostolic Signatura and a priest of the

Archdiocese of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (; ), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archbishops of Lyon are also called primates of Gaul. The oldest diocese in Fran ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, France,

Judicial Vicar In the Roman Catholic Church, a judicial vicar or episcopal official () is an officer of the diocese who has ordinary power to judge cases in the diocesan ecclesiastical court. Although the diocesan bishop can reserve certain cases to himself, ...

of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Vatican City State.

Court of appeal

The Court of Appeal consists of the president and three other judges (similar to the tribunal, cases are heard in a

of three judges). The members of the Court of Appeal are appointed by the pope for a term of five years and are both

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

s and lay persons. The Promoter of Justice of the Court of Appeals of Vatican City is currently, since his appointment by

on Wednesday, June 12, 2013, Professor Raffaele Coppola, Professor of the Law Faculty at the State University of Bari in

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

, Italy, and a member of the Bar for canon and civil law in the Holy See.

Court of cassation

The

is the

of Vatican City.Ed. Condon
Pope Francis stacks the Vatican 'supreme court' — but why?
''The Pillar'' (June 5, 2023). Until 2023, the court consisted of three judges: a president, who was ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

'' the head of the

Apostolic Signatura The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal on any ecclesiastical matter). In addition, ...

(the church's supreme canonical court), and two other cardinals (appointed by the president) who were also members of the Signatura. In April 2023, however,

changed the law to reserve the appointment of judges to the pope. As a result of the change, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, the prefect of the signatura, was removed as president of the Court of Cassation. Francis appointed several cardinals without expertise in canon or civil law to the court, and appointed Cardinal

Kevin Farrell Kevin Joseph Farrell (born 2 September 1947) is an Irish-born American Catholic prelate who has served as the prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life since 2016, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church since 2019, and presiden ...

, the camerlengo, as the court's president. In addition to the cardinal judges, lay legal scholars may be appointed as associate judges to the court. Before 2021, cardinals and bishops had the special privilege of being tried only before the court of cassation, without first going through the lower courts. However, in 2021, shortly before the indictment of Cardinal Angelo Becciu for financial crimes, Francis abolished the privilege, amending the Vatican's civil code to make the lower court competent to judge cases, except for civil cases, "involving the Most Eminent Cardinals and the Most Excellent Bishops" with the prior approval of the pope.

Notable trials

On 14 October 2020, the first ever in-person criminal sex abuse trial held within the Vatican City walls, and also prosecuted by the Vatican

city state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

itself, began, and involved a priest accused of sexually abusing a former St. Pius X youth seminary student between 2007 and 2012 and another for aiding and abetting the abuse. The accused abuser, Rev. Gabriele Martinelli, 28, was a seminarian and has since become a priest. The other defendant is the seminary's 72-year-old former rector Rev. Enrico Radice, who was charged with aiding and abetting the alleged abuse. On 6 October 2021, a Vatican court acquitted both Martinelli and Radice.

Incarceration

The Vatican Gendarmerie has a limited number of prison cells. Convicted criminals are held in Italian prisons under the terms of the

References

External links

"Researching the Law of Vatican City State"Law Library of Congress ''Guide to Law Online: Holy See''
11 July 2013. {{Supreme Courts of Europe Government of Vatican City Religion and politics