Court of Cassation (Vatican City)
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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 ("canon law" comes from Latin ') is "how the Church organizes and governs herself". It is the system of laws and ecclesiastical legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical authorities of the Cathol ...
. The organs of state are governed by the
Fundamental Law of Vatican City State The Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 26 November 2000, is the main governing document of the Vatican's civil entities. It obtained the force of law of 22 February 2001, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, A ...
. The Code of Penal Procedure governs tribunals and the Lateran Treaty governs relations with the Italian Republic.


Canon law

The
canon law of the Catholic Church The canon law of the Catholic Church ("canon law" comes from Latin ') is "how the Church organizes and governs herself". It is the system of laws and ecclesiastical legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical authorities of the Cathol ...
is supreme in the civil legal system of Vatican City State. The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, a dicastery of the Roman Curia and the highest canonical tribunal, is also the final court of cassation 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, the civil legal system of Vatican City State recognizes canon law as its first source of norms and first principle of interpretation. Pope Francis has stated that principles of canon law are essential to the interpretation and application of the laws of Vatican City State.


Fundamental Law

The Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 26 November 2000, consists of 20 articles and is the constitutional law of the Vatican City State. It obtained the force of law on 22 February 2001, Feast of the
Chair of St. Peter The Chair of Saint Peter ( la, Cathedra Petri), 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 tradit ...
, Apostle, and replaced in its entirety the Fundamental Law of Vatican City promulgated by
Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...
on 7 June 1929 (Law n. I). All the norms in force in Vatican City State which were not in agreement with the new Law were abrogated and the original of the Fundamental Law, bearing the Seal of Vatican City State, was deposited in the Archive of the Laws of Vatican City State and the corresponding text was published in the Supplement to the Acta Apostolicae Sedis. The Fundamental Law governs the civil government of Vatican City State, while the apostolic constitution '' Pastor Bonus'' governs the Roman Curia which assists the pope in the governance of the Catholic Church. In April 2019, it was announced that a document titled ''
Praedicate Evangelium ''Praedicate evangelium'' (''Preach the gospel'') is an apostolic constitution reforming the Roman Curia and was published and promulgated on 19 March 2022 by Pope Francis; the document took effect on 5 June 2022. It has fully abrogated a ...
'' (“Preach the Gospel”) will serve as the new apostolic constitution governing the Roman Curia, which Pope Francis was expected to promulgate on 29 June 2019.


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 concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
, explicit listing of sexual crimes, and violating confidentiality. Since life imprisonment was abolished by Pope Francis in 2013, the maximum penalty is 30 to 35 years of imprisonment. In 2008, the Vatican 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 Roman Curia, and foreign
nuncios An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; 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 org ...
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'' 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 (CDF) or competent dicastery. Under the coming new Constitution, however, the authority of the CDF will be weakened and the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors will join the Roman Curia with greater authority as well. A new “super dicastery” which promotes evangelization will also serve as the main institution in the Roman Curia.


Judiciary

The judicial system of Vatican City consists of: * a sole judge (''Giudice Unico, Solus Iudex)'' with limited jurisdiction * a tribunal (''tribunale, atrium)'' with four members * a Court of Appeal (''Corte d'Appello, Curia Appellationis)'' with four members * a Supreme Court (''Corte di Cassazione, Curia Cassationis)'' with three members Justice is exercised in the name of the
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 ...
. 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 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. On May 7, 2015, Pope Francis appointed as a Judge of the Ecclesiastical Court of Vatican City State,
Lucio Banerjee Lucio is an Italian and Spanish male given name derived from the Latin name ''Lucius''. In Portuguese, the given name is accented Lúcio. Lucio is also an Italian surname. Given name * Lúcio (Lucimar Ferreira da Silva) (born 1978), Brazilian ...
, a cleric of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Treviso, in Treviso, Italy, and
Paolo Scevola Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Paul. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Paolo Art * Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter *Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-American ...
, of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Vigevano The Italian Catholic Diocese of Vigevano ( la, Dioecesis Viglevanensis) lies almost entirely in the Province of Pavia, Lombardy. It has existed since 1530. The diocese is suffragan of the Archdiocese of Milan,
, 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, son of Ampud (died 1236), baron in the Kingdom of Hungary * Denis the Carthusian (1402– ...
, an official of the Apostolic Signatura and a priest of the
Archdiocese of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Lugdunensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Lyon''), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The Archbishops ...
in Lyon, France,
Judicial Vicar In the Roman Catholic Church, a judicial vicar or episcopal official ( la, links=no, officialis) is an officer of the diocese who has ordinary power to judge cases in the diocesan ecclesiastical court. Although the diocesan bishop can reserv ...
of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Vatican City State. The Court of Appeal consists of the president and three other judges (similar to the tribunal, cases are heard in a curia of three judges). The members of the Court of Appeal are appointed by the pope for a term of five years and are both clerics and lay persons. The Promoter of Justice of the Court of Appeals of Vatican City is currently, since his appointment by Pope Francis on Wednesday, June 12, 2013, Professor
Raffaele Coppola Raffaele () is an Italian given name and surname, variant of the English Raphael (given name), Raphael. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Raffaele Amato, Italian mobster *Raffaele Cutolo, Italian mobster *Raffaele Ganci, Italian mo ...
, Professor of the Law Faculty at the State University of Bari in
Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
, Italy, and a member of the Bar for canon and civil law in the Holy See. The Supreme Court consists of its president, who is by law the Cardinal Prefect 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 for any ecclesiastical judgment). In additio ...
, currently Cardinal Dominique Mamberti since 2014, and two other cardinals, who are appointed by the President on a yearly basis and who also have to be members of the Signatura. All courts have their seat at the ''Palazzo del Tribunale'' at Piazza Santa Marta behind Saint Peter's Basilica. On 16 March 2020, it was announced that Pope Francis signed a new motu proprio 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. The new law provides for greater independence of judicial bodies and magistrates dependent on the Pope. It also specifies the requirements for the appointment of judges and it simplifies the judicial system while increasing the staff of the court. Furthermore, it provides 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. 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 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 The Gendarmerie Corps of Vatican City State ( la, Corps Gendarmerie Civitatis Vaticanae, it, Corpo della Gendarmeria dello Stato della Città del Vaticano) is the gendarmerie, or police and security force, of Vatican City and the extraterritoria ...
has a limited number of prison cells. Convicted criminals are held in Italian prisons under the terms of the Lateran Treaty.


See also

*
Crime in Vatican City Crime in the Vatican City consists largely of purse snatching, pick-pocketing and shoplifting perpetrated by tourists upon other tourists. The tourist foot-traffic in St. Peter's Square is one of the main locations for pickpockets in Vatican City ...
*
Federico Cammeo Federico Cammeo (1872 - 1939) was an Italians, Italian jurist and an important figure in the public law of the Kingdom of Italy#Fascist regime (1922–1943), Fascist era in Italy. Cammeo taught at the University of Cagliari from 1901, at the U ...
*
Index of Vatican City-related articles Index (or its plural form indices) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index'' * The Index, an item on a Halo megastru ...


References


External links


"Researching the Law of Vatican City State"Law Library of Congress ''Guide to Law Online: Holy See''
11 July 2013. {{Europe topic, Supreme Court of, title=Supreme Courts of Europe, countries_only=yes, template=yes Government of Vatican City