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Preliminary Phase/Preparing the Petition

The first step in this process is for the petitioner to approach his/her local priest, deacon or parish tribunal liaison. They will assist the petitioner in filling out the application and gathering the necessary information. The entire application must be completed, and all paperwork must be compiled before the process can begin.

The petitioner must write a personal history. A guide sheet for this is available on the Forms page.

The petitioner must obtain a copy of his/her baptismal certificate, a copy of his/her marriage certificate (religious is preferred), and a copy of the divorce decree.

The application must include an address for the respondent. This is necessary both for protecting the rights of the respondent, as well as obtaining proper jurisdiction to hear the case.

The petitioner will need to name at least two witnessess who are able to provide testimony regarding the marriage.

Once the tribunal has received the application and all the necessary documents, and jurisdiction has been determined, the petitioner will receive a letter inviting him/her to set up a time for the personal interview with the auditor. The main purpose of the interview is to gather more information to put together proofs for the case. Possible grounds will be explored. During the interview, the auditor will explain the process to the petitioner and the petitioner has the opportunity to ask questions. The petitioner will be asked to sign a libellus, which is the document that formally asks the tribunal to study the validity of the marriage bond.

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Citation of the Respondent and Joinder of Issues

After the personal interview is completed, the auditor will send a certified letter to the respondent with a copy of the libellus. This letter explains that the petitioner has formally started the process, and that the respondent has the right to be informed about the process, to participate, name his/her own witnesses, and to be informed about the final outcome. This letter invites the respondent to either agree with the proposed grounds, object to the grounds, or to propose his/her own grounds.

If the respondent does not respond concerning the grounds, the judge in the case will "join the issues" and set the grounds of how to instruct the case. Both the petitioner and the respondent are informed by mail about which grounds have been set. The witnesses are contacted and invited to respond with a written affidavit.

If the respondent does not respond to either the initial citation or the second letter that stated the grounds, a third letter is sent. If the respondent still does not respond, he/she will be declared absent. The respondent still remains free to participate at any time in the process.

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Instruction of the Case

All of the petitioner's witnesses are sent questionnaires specific for this case. The petitioner must follow up with the witnesses to ensure that they respond. The tribunal will tell the petitioner which witnesses have or have not responded, but it is up to the petitioner to do the follow up. The case may not be able to proceed to the judgment process until all of the petitioner's witnesses have responded. If the respondent asks to have witnesses cited, however, the witnesses are also given a reasonable amount of time to respond.

Once testimony has been received, and if the judges think it will be helpful to them in understanding the case, the petitioner or the respondent or witnesses may be asked to answer a few more questions in writing, in person or over the telephone. Depending on the grounds, the petitioner and/or the respondent may be asked to meet with a psychologist or another court-appointed expert for an interview to offer insight into the marriage.

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Publication of the Acts of the Case

After all of the information has been gathered from the petitioner, respondent and witnesses, the case is bound. The judge issues a decree publishing (i.e., make known to the parties) the acts of the case. This means that both parties will be given the opportunity to come to the tribunal to review all of the material that has been collected and will be used in making a decision concerning the validity or invalidity of the marriage bond. Either party may present additional proofs to be added to the acts of the case after publication.

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Judgment

Thirty days after the publication of the acts, the case is concluded. It is then presented to the defender of the bond and a collegiate panel of three judges.

The defender of the bond does not decide the case. The defender ensures that all procedural elements have been followed and that all rights have been respected. If the defender does not believe the process has been followed according to canon law, this will be noted accordingly. It is the responsibility of the defender to point out all things that support the validity of the sacramental bond being upheld.

The Court of First Instance consists of a three judge panel. Judges are appointed by the Archbishop and have a degree in canon law or have been given a dispensation from Rome to act in this capacity. Once the review is complete, the judges can begin to develop a decision. The judges read all testimony, including that of the defender of the bond. The judges may request additional testimony from existing or new witnesses and/or request input from a court expert.

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Publication of the Sentence and Appeals

After the tribunal judges review the case, one of them will write a definitive sentence with the other two judges giving their opinion. This decision contains an application of grounds or church law to the facts of the case and the argument leading to the court's conclusion. Both parties will then be notified of this decision.

All affirmative decisions (i.e., when the declaration of nullity is granted) are automatically appealed to a Court of Second Instance. The petitioner, respondent and defender of the bond all have a right to appeal the decision in person.

If the collegiate panel decides that the evidence does not support a declaration of nullity, the case ends there, unless either the petitioner or the respondent or the defender of the bond decides to appeal. In this situation, the sacramental or natural bond of marriage is upheld because the presumption of the validity has not been overturned. To appeal a negative decision, one of the parties must write a letter stating that he/she wishes to appeal by person. This must be done within three weeks of the date the person is notified. Then, time will be given for all parties to respond to the definitive sentence and to provide additional testimony.

If the collegiate panel decides that the evidence supports an affirmative decision in favor of a declaration of nullity, the case does not end here. It must receive an affirmative decision from another court. At this point, again both parties have the right to appeal by person. This requires that a person write a letter stating his/her intention to appeal within three weeks. Again, additional time will be given to the parties to gather additional testimony. If neither party appeals by person within three weeks, the case will be appealed by law to the Court of Second Instance for the next review.