Promulgation (Catholic canon law)
In Catholic canon law, promulgation is the publication of a law by which it is made known publicly, and is required by canon law for the law to obtain legal effect. Universal laws are promulgated when they are published in Acta Apostolicae Sedis, and unless specified to the contrary, obtain legal force three months after promulgation. Particular laws are promulgated in various ways but by default take effect one month after promulgation.
Definition and nature
Promulgation is the act by which the legislator manifests to those subject to his jurisdiction the decision that he has made and makes known to them his intention to bind them to the observance of his law.Without having been promulgated, the canonical law in question has no legal effect, since promulgation is "an essential factor of legislation" and "an absolute condition for the effectiveness of a law".
Promulgation is a "formal and fundamental element" of canon law. For the purposes of canonical jurisprudence, promulgation is equivalent to publication.
Once promulgation takes place, a canonical law acquires its last "essential condition" and takes immediate effect, subject to the vacatio legis imposed by universal law, or by the particular legislator issuing a law.
The nature of promulgation in its relation to the nature of canon law is a matter of discussion among canonical writers. Some canonists hold that promulgation as such "enters the very essence of the law", while Abbo and Hannan hold what they assert to be "the more probable opinion that promulgation is merely an extrinsic essential condition sine qua non".
Promulgation in general
Derived from the Latin promulgare, meaning to make known, or to post in public, this is the act by which the legislative power makes legislative enactments known to the authorities entrusted with their execution and to the subjects bound to observe them. Philosophically it is a matter of dispute whether promulgation is of the essence of a law. It seems indisputable that the essential element of a law is the will of the legislator, but it is clear that the legislator should make known his will and intention in one way or another. This manifestation is the promulgation of the law, which is not necessarily distinct from the very elaboration of the law, provided that this takes place by external acts-such as the vote of a legislative assembly or by royal sanction. Such is the practice observed in England and Wales and in most of the United States, but, as it was thought too severe, the legislation of various countries requires the promulgation of laws by a special formal act, through which the text of the law is made known to the community, e.g. by publication of this text in an official journal or bulletin of the Government. Previous to this publication the law does not take effect. The promulgation of a law must not be confounded with its publication, the object of the first being to make known the will of the legislator, of the second to spread the knowledge of legislative enactments among subjects bound to observe them.The Second Vatican Council used the term "promulgated" to speak of Jesus' own proclamation of the Gospel as the source of all saving truth and moral teaching".
Legal requirements
Universal and particular laws
A law issued by the Pope is promulgated when it is published in Acta Apostolicae Sedis, and by default has the force of law three calendar months after promulgation.Particular laws, issued by bishops and particular councils, are promulgated in various ways but, unless specified to the contrary, take effect after one calendar month.
''Vacatio legis''
In principle, a law becomes binding from the time of its promulgation. But because there are often reasons that the immediate efficacy of a law would be detrimental to those upon whom it enjoins, the legislator often orders a delay, or vacatio, in the law's applicability. In Latin canon law, the vacatio legis is three months for universal laws, and one month for particular laws, unless the law itself establishes a longer or shorter period of time. The legislator of the law can stipulate a longer or shorter time of vacatio than that which is stipulated generally.Computation of time
Months are computed according to the calendar from the date of publication. A "canonical month" is a period of 30 days, while a "calendar month" is a continuous month. The vacatio legis is computed according to the calendar; for example, if a law is promulgated on 2 November, and the vacatio legis is 3 months, then the law takes effect on 2 February. So a universal law has a vacatio legis of approximately 90 days—3 months taken according to the calendar—while a particular law has a vacatio legis of approximately 30 days—1 month taken according to the calendar—unless specified to the contrary.History
According to Canon 7 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, Lex instituitur cum promulgatur. This is an ancient provision in Latin-rite canon law, dating in its plural form to the Latin formulation of the great twelfth-century codifier of canon law, Gratian: Leges instituuntur cum promulgantur. The exact same formulation found in Gratian's Decretum was reproduced in the 1917 Code of Canon Law, while the Latin plural of the original was modified to its singular form.In previous times laws issued by the Holy See were affixed to the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Basilica of St. Peter, the Palace of the Apostolic Chancery, and in the Campo dei Fiori. Since the laws had been posted publicly in the city, they were deemed to have been promulgated to the world. The current method of promulgating universal laws—publishing them in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis—was introduced by Pope Pius X with the apostolic constitution Promulgandi of 29 September 1908, and was confirmed by the 1917 Code.
A recent trend is to promulgate universal laws independently of their publication in the Acta Apostolicæ Sedis, with the Acta remaining the source for their official Latin text. In general, the Holy See does not give its assent to translations of the Latin originals ; the Holy See is content to publish the Latin alone, as Latin is the official language of canon law.