Validation of marriage (canon law)

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The validating marriage is after the Roman Catholic canon law to arrange a way marriages were invalid closed or whose validity is doubtful.

Basically, three conditions must be met for a marriage to be valid:

  1. Clear marriage will of both partners
  2. no obstacles (divine or ecclesiastical law)
  3. Compliance with the formal requirement

If at the time of the marriage there was an obstacle that had not been removed or one from which there was no dispensation , if there was a lack of will to marry or if the necessary formal requirements were not complied with, then under church law no marriage has taken place.

The aim of canonical marriage law is to avoid invalid marriages. In practice, however, it happens again and again that deficiencies in the marriage become apparent or the validity of a marriage is doubtful. Judging from the fact that marriage is a sacrament , an invalid marriage is a serious disruption of the legal order that must be removed if possible. One possible way would be the separation of the affected couples and the determination of the marriage nullity . However, the primary goal is to achieve a convalidation (validation). The will of the bride and groom to marry is constitutive for marriage. If this is not the case, the invalid marriage cannot be made valid either.

There are basically two ways of validation in canon law:

  • Convalidatio simplex , simple validation (cc. 1156–1160 CIC ): Here the validating legal act is set by the invalidly married partners.
  • Sanatio in radice , healing in the roots (cc. 1161–1165 CIC): Here the validation is a sovereign act and is set by the competent authority ( Holy See or local ordinary ).

It is also important that the reason for nullity can be removed. If there is an unrecoverable obstacle, the marriage cannot be validated. Unrecoverable obstacle reasons correspond to those of a new marriage. The reason for nullity is remedied either by omission (e.g. death of the spouse), dispensation or amendment of the law. Due to the passage of time (e.g. lack of minimum age), reasons for invalidity can also be remedied. In the event of a change in the law and the associated elimination of the specific obstacle, marriages that were invalid under the previous law will not automatically become valid, but a convalidation is then possible.

Convalidatio simplex (simple validation)

In the case of the convalidatio simplex , the marriage consensus must be renewed. Either by both spouses or by the partner who has not yet reached a consensus (c. 1159 § 1 CIC). If only one of the spouses is aware of the obstacle, it is sufficient that the consensus is renewed privately and secretly by him (c. 1158 § 2 CIC).

If there is evidence of a lack of will or obstacles, the canonical form of marriage must be adhered to when renewing the consensus. If the lack of will or the obstacle cannot be proven, an informal renewal of the consensus is sufficient. In the canonical literature it is criticized that the formal requirement according to c. 1159 § 3 CIC lead to unjust results. For example, a marriage that was initially invalid because of a lack of consensus would not be "rehabilitated" even for decades, although the lack of consensus between the two partners has now ceased and these two partners have children. Such a way of life could, under certain circumstances, indicate an implied validation of the marriage consensus.

Sanatio in radice (healing in the root)

The Sanatio in radice is a sovereign act of grace without the need for a renewal of the consensus. The normal way of retrospectively validating void marriages is to use the convalidatio simplex . The sanatio in radice should be the exception if the convalidatio simplex is impossible or difficult.

In three canons (cc. 1161–1163 CIC) it is emphasized that a healing in the root is only possible if the marriage will and consensus of both partners is (still) given. Obviously, c. 1057 § 1 CIC, according to which consensus cannot be replaced by any human power. This means, similar to the convalidatio simplex , that it is not possible to validate a marriage without the partners wanting to do so. It is not necessary that the will of the marriage was already in order at the moment when it was declared at the wedding ceremony. It is enough that it is given at the time of healing.

If another ground is added to the original nullity ground before the marriage is validated, both must be removed for a valid marriage to arise. If it is not possible to remove the obstacle that occurred later, the marriage cannot be rehabilitated.

The marriage healing in the root brings with it the dispensation from an obstacle to marriage or the formal obligation. (It should be pointed out at this point that, according to c. 85 CIC, the church can only dispense from purely ecclesiastical laws and thus not from obstacles to marriage under natural or divine law.)

Example: If a married deacon discovers that his marriage is not valid until after his ordination, validation is initially prevented by the obstacle to ordination (c. 1087 CIC); with the sanatio, of course, there is also dispensation from this obstacle.

  • Request from Sanatio, page 1

  • Request from Sanatio, page 2

A marriage of different denominations can only be validated if the conditions in c. 1125 required conditions are met.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Karl-Theodor Geringer : The convalidation of marriage. In: Joseph Listl , Heribert Schmitz (ed.): Handbook of Catholic Church Law. 2nd, completely revised edition. Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1999, ISBN 3-7917-1664-6 , pp. 981-987, here p. 981.
  2. ^ Karl-Theodor Geringer: The convalidation of marriage. In: Joseph Listl, Heribert Schmitz (ed.): Handbook of Catholic Church Law. 2nd, completely revised edition. Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1999, ISBN 3-7917-1664-6 , pp. 981-987, here p. 982.
  3. ↑ There is what is known as improper validation, in which someone is only subjectively of the opinion that their marriage is invalid. In reality, there is already a valid marriage. The improper validation then only serves the purpose of legal certainty and reassurance. In the actual validation, however, an invalid marriage becomes a valid one. The marriage becomes valid ex nunc , but the legal consequences of a marriage apply ex tunc , i.e. from the time of the invalid marriage.
  4. ^ Georg Dietlein: The implied convalidation of marriage. Comparative law considerations for the confirmation, healing and convalidation of a marriage invalid due to lack of consensus . BoD, Norderstedt 2014, ISBN 978-3-7357-5120-1 .
  5. ^ Klaus Lüdicke : Marriage law. Codex iuris canonici. Canons 1055-1165. Ludgerus-Verlag, Essen 1983, ISBN 3-87497-165-1 .
  6. ^ Karl-Theodor Geringer: The convalidation of marriage. In: Joseph Listl, Heribert Schmitz (ed.): Handbook of Catholic Church Law. 2nd, completely revised edition. Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1999, ISBN 3-7917-1664-6 , pp. 981-987, here p. 987.
  7. ↑ Hartmut Zapp : Canonical Marriage Law (= Rombach University Paperback. 110). 6th, completely revised edition. Rombach, Freiburg (Breisgau) 1983, ISBN 3-7930-9032-9 , pp. 255, 256.
  8. ^ Karl-Theodor Geringer: The convalidation of marriage. In: Joseph Listl, Heribert Schmitz (ed.): Handbook of Catholic Church Law. 2nd, completely revised edition. Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1999, ISBN 3-7917-1664-6 , pp. 981-987, here p. 986.
  9. ^ Karl-Theodor Geringer: The convalidation of marriage. In: Joseph Listl, Heribert Schmitz (ed.): Handbook of Catholic Church Law. 2nd, completely revised edition. Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1999, ISBN 3-7917-1664-6 , pp. 981-987, here p. 987.