Code of Canon Law 1595
1596 §1. A person who has an interest can be admitted to intervene in a case at any instance of the litigation, either as a party defending a right or in an accessory manner to help a litigant.
§2. To be admitted, the person must present a libellus to the judge before the conclusion of the case; in the libellus the person briefly is to demonstrate his or her right to intervene.
§3. A person who intervenes in a case must be admitted at that stage which the case has reached, with a brief and peremptory period of time assigned to the person to present proofs if the case has reached the probatory period.
1597 After having heard the parties, the judge must summon to the trial a third person whose intervention seems necessary.
1598 §1. After the proofs have been collected, the judge by a decree must permit the parties and their advocates, under penalty of nullity, to inspect at the tribunal chancery the acts not yet known to them; furthermore, a copy of the acts can also be given to advocates who request one. In cases pertaining to the public good to avoid a most grave danger the judge can decree that a specific act must be shown to no one; the judge is to take care, however, that the right of defense always remains intact.
§2. To complete the proofs, the parties can propose additional proofs to the judge. When these proofs have been collected, it is again an occasion for the decree mentioned in §1 if the judge thinks it necessary.
1599 §1. When everything pertaining to the production of proofs has been completed, the conclusion of the case is reached.
§2. This conclusion occurs whenever the parties declare that they have nothing else to add, the useful time prescribed by the judge to propose proofs has elapsed, or the judge declares that the case is instructed sufficiently.
§3. The judge is to issue a decree that the case has reached its conclusion, in whatever manner it has occurred.
1600 §1. After the conclusion of the case, the judge can still summon the same or other witnesses or arrange for other proofs which were not requested earlier, only:
1/ in cases which concern the private good of the parties alone, if all the parties consent;
2/ in other cases, after the parties have been heard and provided that there is a grave reason and any danger of fraud or subornation is eliminated;
3/ in all cases whenever it is likely that the sentence will be unjust because of the reasons mentioned in CIC 1645, §2, nn. 1-3 unless the new proof is allowed.
§2. The judge, moreover, can order or allow a document to be shown, which may have been unable to be shown earlier through no negligence of the interested person.
§3. New proofs are to be published according to CIC 1598, §1.
1601 After the conclusion of the case, the judge is to determine a suitable period of time to present defense briefs or observations.
1602 §1. The defense briefs and the observations are to be written unless the judge, with the consent of the parties, considers a debate before a session of the tribunal to be sufficient.
§2. To print the defense briefs along with the principal documents requires the previous permission of the judge, without prejudice to the obligation of secrecy, if such exists.
§3. The regulations of the tribunal are to be observed regarding the length of the defense briefs, the number of copies, and other matters of this kind.
1603 §1. When the defense briefs and observations have been communicated to each party, either party is permitted to present responses within the brief time period established by the judge.
§2. The parties are given this right only once unless the judge decides that it must be granted a second time for a grave cause; then, however, the grant made to one party is considered as given to the other also.
§3. The promoter of justice and the defender of the bond have the right to reply a second time to the responses of the parties.
1604 §1. It is absolutely forbidden for information given to the judge by the parties, advocates, or even other persons to remain outside the acts of the case.
§2. If the discussion of the case has been done in writing, the judge can order a moderate oral debate to be held before a session of the tribunal in order to explain certain questions.
1605 A notary is to be present at the oral debate mentioned in cann. CIC 1602, §1 and CIC 1604, §2 so that, if the judge orders it or a party requests it and the judge consents, the notary can immediately report in writing about what was discussed and concluded.
1606 If the parties have neglected to prepare a defense brief within the time available to them or have entrusted themselves to the knowledge and conscience of the judge, and if from the acts and proofs the judge considers the matter fully examined, the judge can pronounce the sentence immediately, after having requested the observations of the promoter of justice and the defender of the bond if they are involved in the trial.
1607 When a case has been handled in a judicial manner, if it is the principal case, the judge decides it through the definitive sentence; if an incidental case, through an interlocutory sentence, without prejudice to the prescript of CIC 1589, §1.
1608 §1. For the pronouncement of any sentence, the judge must have moral certitude about the matter to be decided by the sentence.
§2. The judge must derive this certitude from the acts and the proofs.
§3. The judge, however, must appraise the proofs according to the judge’s own conscience, without prejudice to the prescripts of law concerning the efficacy of certain proofs.
§4. A judge who was not able to arrive at this certitude is to pronounce that the right of the petitioner is not established and is to dismiss the respondent as absolved, unless it concerns a case which has the favor of law, in which case the judge must pronounce for that.
1609 §1. In a collegiate tribunal the president of the college is to establish the date and time when the judges are to convene for deliberation; unless a special reason suggests otherwise, the meeting is to be held at the tribunal office.
§2. On the date assigned for the meeting, the individual judges are to submit their written conclusions on the merit of the case with the reasons in law and in fact which led them to their conclusions; these conclusions are to be added to the acts of the case and must be kept secret.
§3. After the invocation of the Divine Name, the individual judges are to present their conclusions in order of precedence, always beginning, however, with the ponens or relator of the case. A discussion then follows under the leadership of the tribunal president, especially to determine what must be established in the dispositive part of the sentence.
§4. In the discussion each judge is permitted to withdraw from his or her original conclusion. The judge who is unwilling to assent to the decision of the others, however, can demand that his or her conclusions be transmitted to the higher tribunal if an appeal is made.
§5. If the judges are unwilling or unable to arrive at a sentence during the first discussion, the decision can be deferred to a new meeting, but not for more than a week, unless the instruction of the case must be completed according to the norm of CIC 1600.
1610 §1. If there is only one judge, he will write the sentence himself.
§2. In a collegiate tribunal, it is for the ponens or relator to write the sentence, selecting the reasons from those the individual judges brought forth during the discussion, unless a majority of the judges have already determined the reasons to be presented. The sentence must then be submitted for the approval of the individual judges.
§3. The sentence must be issued no more than a month from the day on which the case was decided unless in a collegiate tribunal the judges set a longer period for a grave reason.
1611 The sentence must:
1/ decide the controversy deliberated before the tribunal with an appropriate response given to the individual doubts;
2/ determine what obligations have arisen for the parties from the trial and how they must be fulfilled;
3/ set forth the reasons or motives in law and in fact on which the dispositive part of the sentence is based;
4/ determine the expenses of the litigation.
1612 §1. After the invocation of the Divine Name, the sentence must express in order the judge or the tribunal, the petitioner, the respondent, and the procurator, with their names and domiciles correctly designated, and the promoter of justice and defender of the bond if they took part in the trial.
§2. Next, it must briefly relate the facts together with the conclusions of the parties and the formula of the doubts.
§3. The dispositive part of the sentence follows the above, preceded by the reasons on which it is based.
§4. It is to conclude with the indication of the date and the place where it was rendered, with the signature of the judge or, if it is a collegiate tribunal, of all the judges, and the notary.
1613 The rules proposed above for a definitive sentence are to be adapted for an interlocutory sentence.
1614 The sentence is to be published as soon as possible, with an indication of the means by which it can be challenged. It has no force before publication even if the dispositive part was made known to the parties with the permission of the judge.
1615 Publication or communication of the sentence can be done either by giving a copy of the sentence to the parties or their procurators or by sending them a copy according to the norm of CIC 1509.
1616 §1. If in the text of the sentence an error in calculations turns up, a material error occurs in transcribing the dispositive section or in relating the facts or the petitions of the parties, or the requirements of CIC 1612, §4 are omitted, the tribunal which rendered the sentence must correct or complete it either at the request of a party or ex officio, but always after the parties have been heard and a decree appended to the bottom of the sentence.
§2. If any party objects, the incidental question is to be decided by a decree.
1617 Other pronouncements of the judge besides the sentence are decrees, which have no force if they are not merely procedural unless they express the reasons at least in a summary fashion or refer to reasons expressed in another act.
1618 An interlocutory sentence or a decree has the force of a definitive sentence if it prevents a trial or puts an end to a trial or some grade of a trial with respect to at least some party in the case.
1619 Without prejudice to cann. CIC 1622 and CIC 1623, whenever a case involves the good of private persons, the sentence itself sanates the nullities of acts established by positive law which were not declared to the judge before the sentence even though they were known to the party proposing the complaint.
1620 A sentence suffers from the defect of irremediable nullity if:
1/ it was rendered by an absolutely incompetent judge;
2/ it was rendered by a person who lacks the power of judging in the tribunal in which the case was decided;
3/ a judge rendered a sentence coerced by force or grave fear;
4/ the trial took place without the judicial petition mentioned in CIC 1501 or was not instituted against some respondent;
5/ it was rendered between parties, at least one of whom did not have standing in the trial;
6/ someone acted in the name of another without a legitimate mandate;
7/ the right of defense was denied to one or the other party;
8/ it did not decide the controversy even partially.
1621 The complaint of nullity mentioned in CIC 1620 can be proposed by way of exception in perpetuity and also by way of action before the judge who rendered the sentence within ten years from the date of the publication of the sentence.
1622 A sentence suffers from the defect of remediable nullity only if:
1/ it was rendered by an illegitimate number of judges contrary to the prescript of CIC 1425, §1;
2/ it does not contain the motives or reasons for the decision;
3/ it lacks the signatures prescribed by law;
4/ it does not indicate the year, month, day, and place in which it was rendered;
5/ it is based on a null judicial act whose nullity was not sanated according to the norm of CIC 1619;
6/ it was rendered against a party legitimately absent according to CIC 1593, §2.
1623 A complaint of nullity in the cases mentioned in CIC 1622 can be proposed within three months from the notice of the publication of the sentence.
1624 The judge who rendered the sentence deals with the complaint of nullity. If the party fears that the judge who rendered the sentence challenged by the complaint of nullity is prejudiced and therefore considers the judge suspect, the party can demand that another judge be substituted according to the norm of CIC 1450.
1625 A complaint of nullity can be proposed together with an appeal within the time established for an appeal.
1626 §1. Not only the parties who consider themselves aggrieved can introduce a complaint of nullity but also the promoter of justice and the defender of the bond whenever they have the right to intervene.
§2. The judge can retract or emend ex officio a null sentence, which that judge has rendered, within the time limit for acting established by CIC 1623 unless an appeal together with a complaint of nullity has been introduced in the meantime or the nullity has been sanated through the expiration of the time limit mentioned in CIC 1623.
1627 Cases concerning a complaint of nullity can be treated according to the norms for the oral contentious process.
1628 A party who considers himself or herself aggrieved by any sentence as well as the promoter of justice and the defender of the bond in cases which require their presence have the right to appeal the sentence to a higher judge, without prejudice to the prescript of CIC 1629.
1629 There is no appeal:
1/ from a sentence of the Supreme Pontiff himself or the Apostolic Signatura;
2/ from a sentence tainted by a defect of nullity, unless the appeal is joined with a complaint of nullity according to the norm of CIC 1625;
3/ from a sentence which has become a res iudicata;
4/ from a decree of a judge or from an interlocutory sentence which does not have the force of a definitive sentence, unless it is joined with an appeal from a definitive sentence;
5/ from a sentence or a decree in a case where the law requires the matter to be decided as promptly as possible (expeditissime).
1630 §1. An appeal must be introduced before the judge who rendered the sentence within the peremptory period of fifteen useful days from the notice of the publication of the sentence.
§2. If an appeal is made orally, the notary is to put it in writing in the presence of the appellant.
1631 If a question arises about the right to appeal, the appellate tribunal deals with it as promptly as possible (expeditissime)according to the norms of the oral contentious process.
1632 §1. If the appeal does not indicate the tribunal to which it is directed, it is presumed to be made to the tribunal mentioned in cann. CIC 1438 and CIC 1439.
§2. If the other party has appealed to another appellate tribunal, the tribunal of higher grade deals with the case, without prejudice to CIC 1415.
1633 An appeal must be pursued before the appellate judge within a month from its introduction unless the judge from whom appeal is made has established a longer period for a party to pursue it.
1634 §1. To pursue an appeal it is required and suffices that a party calls upon the services of a higher judge for an emendation of the challenged sentence, attaches a copy of this sentence, and indicates the reasons for the appeal.
§2. If a party cannot obtain a copy of the challenged sentence from the tribunal from which appeal is made within the useful time, the time limits do not run in the meantime; the impediment must be made known to the appellate judge who is to bind the judge from whom appeal is made by a precept to fulfill that judge’s duty as soon as possible.
§3. Meanwhile the judge from whom appeal is made must transmit the acts to the appellate judge according to the norm of CIC 1474.
1635 Once the deadline for appeal has passed without action either before the judge from whom the appeal is made or before the appellate judge, the appeal is considered abandoned.
1636 §1. The appellant can renounce the appeal with the effects mentioned in CIC 1525.
§2. If the defender of the bond or the promoter of justice has introduced the appeal, the defender of the bond or the promoter of justice of the appellate tribunal can renounce it, unless the law provides otherwise.
1637 §1. An appeal made by the petitioner also benefits the respondent and vice versa.
§2. If there are several respondents or petitioners and the sentence is challenged by only one or against only one of them, the challenge is considered to be made by all of them and against all of them whenever the matter sought is indivisible or a joint obligation.
§3. If one party introduces an appeal against one ground of the sentence, the other party can appeal incidentally against other grounds within the peremptory period of fifteen days from the day on which the original appeal was made known to the latter, even if the deadline for an appeal has passed.
§4. Unless it is otherwise evident, an appeal is presumed to be made against all the grounds of a sentence.
1638 An appeal suspends the execution of the sentence.
1639 §1. Without prejudice to the prescript of CIC 1683, a new cause for petitioning cannot be admitted at the appellate grade, not even by way of useful accumulation; consequently, the joinder of the issue can only address whether the prior sentence is to be con-firmed or revised either totally or partially.
§2. New proofs, however, are admitted only according to the norm of CIC 1600.
1640 The appellate grade must proceed in the same manner as first instance with appropriate adjustments; immediately after the issue has been joined according to the norm of CIC 1513, §1 and CIC 1639, §1 and unless the proofs possibly must be completed, the discussion of the case is to take place and the sentence rendered.
1641 Without prejudice to the prescript of CIC 1643, a res iudicata occurs:
1/ if a second concordant sentence is rendered between the same parties over the same issue and on the same cause for petitioning;
2/ if an appeal against the sentence has not been introduced within the useful time;
3/ if at the appellate grade, the trial has been abated or renounced;
4/ if a definitive sentence has been rendered from which there is no appeal according to the norm of CIC 1629.
1642 §1. A res iudicata possesses the stability of law and cannot be challenged directly except according to the norm of CIC 1645, §1.
§2. It establishes the rights between the parties and permits an action for execution and an exception of res iudicata which the judge can also declare ex officio in order to prevent a new introduction of the same case.
1643 Cases concerning the status of persons, including cases concerning the separation of spouses, never become res iudicata.
1644 §1. If a second concordant sentence has been rendered in a case concerning the status of persons, recourse can be made at any time to the appellate tribunal if new and grave proofs or arguments are brought forward within the peremptory time limit of thirty days from the proposed challenge. Within a month from when the new proofs and arguments are brought forward, however, the appellate tribunal must establish by decree whether a new presentation of the case must be admitted or not.
§2. Recourse to a higher tribunal in order to obtain a new presentation of the case does not suspend the execution of the sentence unless either the law provides otherwise or the appellate tribunal orders its suspension according to the norm of CIC 1650, §3.
1645 §1. Restitutio in integrum is granted against a sentence which has become res iudicata provided that its injustice is clearly established.
§2. Injustice, however, is not considered to be established clearly unless:
1/ the sentence is based on proofs which afterwards are discovered to be false in such a way that without those proofs the dispositive part of the sentence is not sustained;
2/ documents have been revealed afterwards which undoubtedly prove new facts and demand a contrary decision;
3/ the sentence was rendered due to the malice of one party resulting in harm to the other party;
4/ a prescript of the law which is not merely procedural was clearly neglected;
5/ the sentence is contrary to a previous decision which has become res iudicata.
1646 §1. Restitutio in integrum for the reasons mentioned in CIC 1645, §2, nn. 1-3 must be sought from the judge who rendered the sentence within three months computed from the day the person became aware of these same reasons.
§2. Restitutio in integrum for the reasons mentioned in CIC 1645§2, nn. 4 and 5 must be sought from the appellate tribunal within three months from the notice of the publication of the sentence; if in the case mentioned in CIC 1645, §2, n. 5 notice of the previous decision occurs later, however, the time limit runs from this notice.
§3. The time limits mentioned above do not run as long as the injured person is a minor.
1647 §1. The petition for restitutio in integrum suspends the execution of a sentence if execution has not yet begun.
§2. If from probable indications there is a suspicion that a petition has been made in order to delay the execution, however, the judge can decree execution of the sentence, though with suitable guarantees to the one seeking the restitutio that there will be indemnity if the restitutio in integrum is granted.
1648 If restitutio in integrum is granted, the judge must pronounce on the merits of the case.
1649 §1. The bishop who directs the tribunal is to establish norms concerning:
1/ the requirement of the parties to pay or compensate judicial expenses;
2/ the fees for the procurators, advocates, experts, and interpreters and the indemnity for the witnesses;
3/ the grant of gratuitous legal assistance or reduction of the expenses;
4/ the recovery of damages owed by a person who not only lost the trial but also entered into the litigation rashly;
5/ the deposit of money or the provision furnished for the payment of expenses and recovery of damages.
§2. There is no separate appeal from the determination of expenses, fees, and recovery of damages, but the party can make recourse within fifteen days to the same judge who can adjust the assessment.
1650 §1. A sentence that has become a res iudicata can be executed, without prejudice to the prescript of CIC 1647.
§2. The judge who rendered the sentence and, if an appeal has been proposed, also the appellate judge can order ex officio or at the request of a party a provisional execution of a sentence which has not yet become res iudicata, after having set suitable guarantees, if the case warrants, for provisions or payments ordered for necessary support; they can also do so if some other just cause urges it.
§3. If the sentence mentioned in §2 is challenged, the judge who must investigate the challenge can suspend the execution or subject it to a guarantee if the judge sees that the challenge is probably well founded and irreparable damage can arise from execution.
1651 Execution cannot occur prior to the executory decree of the judge which declares that the sentence must be executed. This decree is to be included in the text of the sentence or issued separately according to the particular nature of the cases.
1652 If the execution of a sentence requires a prior rendering of accounts, it is an incidental question which the same judge who rendered the sentence ordering the execution must decide.
1653 §1. Unless particular law establishes otherwise, the bishop of the diocese in which the sentence was rendered in the first grade must execute the sentence personally or through another.
§2. If he refuses or neglects to do this, the execution of the sentence, either at the request of an interested party or even ex officio, pertains to the authority to whom the appellate tribunal is subject according to the norm of CIC 1439, §3.
§3. Among religious the execution of the sentence pertains to the superior who rendered the sentence to be executed or the superior who delegated the judge.
1654 §1. Unless the text of the sentence leaves it to the judgment of the executor, the executor must execute the sentence according to the obvious sense of the words.
§2. The executor is permitted to deal with exceptions concerning the manner and force of the execution but not concerning the merit of the case. If it is discovered from another source that the sentence is null or manifestly unjust according to the norm of cann. CIC 1620 CIC 1622, and CIC 1645, the executor is to refrain from executing it and, after having informed the parties, is to refer the matter to the tribunal which rendered the sentence.
1655 §1. In real actions, whenever the petitioner is awarded something, it must be handed over to the petitioner as soon as there is a res iudicata.
§2. In personal actions, when the guilty party is condemned to furnish a movable thing, to pay money, or to give or do something else, the judge in the text of the sentence or the executor according to his or her judgment and prudence is to establish a time limit to fulfill the obligation; this time limit, however, is not to be less than fifteen days nor more than six months.
1656 §1. All cases not excluded by law can be treated in the oral contentious process mentioned in this section unless a party requests the ordinary contentious process.
§2. If the oral process is used outside of the cases permitted in law, the judicial acts are null.
1657 The oral contentious process takes place in the first grade before a single judge according to the norm of CIC 1424.
1658 §1. In addition to the things enumerated in CIC 1504, the libellus which introduces the litigation must:
1/ set forth briefly, completely, and clearly the facts on which the requests of the petitioner are based;
2/ indicate the proofs by which the petitioner intends to demonstrate the facts but which cannot be presented at once, in such a way that the judge can collect them immediately.
§2. The documents on which the petition is based must be attached to the libellus, at least in an authentic copy.
1659 §1. If the attempt at reconciliation according to the norm of CIC 1446, §2 proved useless and the judge thinks that the libellus has some foundation, the judge is to order within three days by a decree appended to the bottom of the libellus that a copy of the petition be communicated to the respondent, giving to the latter the opportunity to send a written response to the tribunal chancery within fifteen days.
§2. This notification has the effect of the judicial citation mentioned in CIC 1512.
1660 If the exceptions of the respondent demand it, the judge is to establish a time limit for the petitioner to respond, in such a way that from the points brought forth by both of the parties the judge clarifies the object of the controversy.
1661 §1. When the time limits mentioned in cann. CIC 1659 and CIC 1660 have elapsed, the judge, after an examination of the acts, is to determine the formula of the doubt. Next, the judge is to cite all those who must take part to a hearing which must be held within thirty days; the formula of the doubt is to be attached to the citation of the parties.
§2. In the citation the parties are to be informed that they can present a brief written statement to the tribunal to verify their claims at least three days before the hearing.
1662 At the hearing the questions mentioned in CIC 1459-1464 are treated first.
1663 §1. The proofs are collected at the hearing without prejudice to the prescript of CIC 1418.
§2. A party and his or her advocate can be present at the examination of the other parties, the witnesses, and the experts.
1664 The notary must put into writing the responses of the parties, the witnesses, and the experts and the petitions and exceptions of the advocates, but in a summary fashion and only in those matters pertaining to the substance of the dispute; the deponents must sign these acts.
1665 The judge can admit proofs which are not brought forth or sought in the petition or response only according to the norm of CIC 1452. After even one witness has been heard, however, the judge can only decide about new proofs according to the norm of CIC 1600.
1666 If all the proofs were not able to be collected during the hearing, a second hearing is to be scheduled.
1667 When the proofs have been collected, the oral discussion takes place at the same hearing.
1668 §1. Unless the discussion reveals that something must be supplied in the instruction of the case or something else turns up which prevents a proper pronouncement of the sentence, at the completion of the hearing the judge in private is to decide the case immediately; the dispositive part of the sentence is to be read at once before the parties who are present.
§2. The tribunal can defer the decision up to the fifth useful day because of the difficulty of the matter or for some other just cause.
§3. The complete text of the sentence with the reasons expressed is to be communicated to the parties as soon as possible, ordinarily in not more than fifteen days.
1669 If the appellate tribunal discovers that the oral contentious process was used at a lower grade of a trial in cases excluded by law, it is to declare the nullity of the sentence and remit the case to the tribunal which rendered the sentence.
1670 In other matters pertaining to the manner of proceeding, the prescripts of the canons for the ordinary contentious trial are to be observed. In order to expedite matters without prejudice to justice, however, the tribunal, by a decree expressing the reasons for its decision, can derogate from procedural norms which have not been established for validity.
1671 Marriage cases of the baptized belong to the ecclesiastical judge by proper right.
1672 Cases concerning the merely civil effects of marriage belong to the civil magistrate unless particular law establishes that an ecclesiastical judge can investigate and decide these cases if they are done in an incidental or accessory manner.
1673 In cases concerning the nullity of marriage which are not reserved to the Apostolic See, the following are competent:
1/ the tribunal of the place in which the marriage was celebrated;
2/ the tribunal of the place in which the respondent has a domicile or quasi-domicile;
3/ the tribunal of the place in which the petitioner has a domicile, provided that both parties live in the territory of the same conference of bishops and the judicial vicar of the domicile of the respondent gives consent after he has heard the respondent;
4/ the tribunal of the place in which in fact most of the proofs must be collected, provided that consent is given by the judicial vicar of the domicile of the respondent, who is first to ask if the respondent has any exception to make.
Code of Canon Law 1595