The nullity process

Two different types of procedure are provided for the determination of the nullity of a marriage before an ecclesiastical court at first instance, one ordinary and another shorter in case of meeting the conditions. Against the judgment, affirmative or negative, both ordinary and extraordinary remedies are available.

The ordinary procedure

You often hear the question “how do you annul a marriage?”. Once again it is important to point out that this is an inaccuracy because the competent ecclesiastical court does not annul the marriage but, if the conditions are met, simply establishes a nullity already existing for one of the causes (or heads) already provided for by the current legislation. Neither one nor both spouses are sought for moral fault. It is proposed, for the sake of truth, to assess whether their consent to marriage was valid or not.

We can distinguish an ordinary procedure and a shorter one, that is the processus brevior introduced with the reform of Pope Francis.

As far as the ordinary formis concerned, it is a judicial proceeding, a trial before an ecclesiastical authority competent mainly by reason of the place of residence of one of the parties or the celebration of the marriage or the gathering of evidence, in the course of which spouses are heard, and the evidence they intend to produce.
The evidence is essentially testimonial or documentary and, in cases expressly provided for, expert reports, mostly medical. Each individual case, like any judgment, must be assessed individually and appropriately, since it is also a very delicate and highly specialized field, for which it is particularly important to contact an expert in the field.

The shortest form

The processus brevior, oor shorter, is a simplified procedure that can only be used under certain conditions. The application must be made jointly by both spouses or by one party with the consent of the other. He shall address himself to the competent Bishop in cases where the nullity of marriage is easily ascertained. For the sake of illustration, they are mentioned in the Motu proprio Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus, which introduced this procedure, certain circumstances that might suggest recourse to it,For the sake of illustration, they are mentioned in the Motu proprio Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus, which introduced this procedure, certain circumstances that might suggest recourse to it, such as the lack of faith which can generate the simulation of consent or the error determining the will,the brevity of conjugal cohabitation, abortion procured to prevent procreation, the persistent involvement in an extra-marital relationship at the time of the marriage or immediately following it, the deceitful concealment of sterility or grave contagious illness, or children from a previous relationship, or incarcerations, a cause of marriage completely extraneous to married life, or consisting of the unexpected pregnancy of the woman, physical violence inflicted to extort consent.

The appeals

In the Canon law, judgments on the status of persons, including matrimonial cases, never become final; therefore, a review by the courts is always conceivable, provided that one of the parties has not married again. An appeal, or a regular remedy, is possible against a judgment which has been pronounced for the first time on a ground of invalidity.

If the judgment is found to be particularly vitiated by serious defects, for example because it was handed down by a court with no jurisdiction, or has not settled the dispute or has been delivered in breach of the rights of defence of one of the parties, one can bring a complaint of nullity, that is to say, an application for a declaration of invalidity of the judgment under appeal.

If two judgments have been given on the same head or ground of nullity, that is to say, they have both declared or denied the marriage to be null and void, in the presence of new and serious evidence it is possible to request a new examination of the case, or propose a nova causae propositio. Since the latter are extraordinary appeals, they are subject to special conditions of admissibility which make it all the more desirable for them to be assisted by a specialised lawyer.