In the last article, I explained the Church’s judicial process and the meaning of a declaration of nullity/annulment. Now, I would like to outline the five stages of the marriage nullity trial, as well as the key persons involved in it. For the sake of this article, I am unable to go into the details of the entire process. Instead I will offer brief descriptions of all the stages. So what does the trial look like?
In every trial there are certain persons involved. First, there are the parties themselves. One is called the “petitioner” who introduces a claim to the tribunal, while the other spouse is called the “respondent”. Next, there is the judge. Usually, there is a college of 3 judges that examine every case, but on some occasions the case can be entrusted to a single clerical judge. Then, l there is the “Defender of the Bond”. The defender of the bond’s task is to purpose every reasonable observation in favor of the marriage bond. This is because sometimes, the parties might work together to make a false claim just to get an annulment. In the interest of declaring the truth, the Church ensures that there is a defender of the bond to assist the judges in discerning the truth of marriage. Next, there is a notary whose duty is to certify and sign off on the documents. Finally, the parties have the right to ask for an advocate to help them formulate their arguments in a legal manner.
The first stage is called the introductory stage. There is a Latin axiom, “Nemo iudex sine actore”, which means “there is no judge without a petitioner”. A judge cannot just go around saying, “I think your marriage is null. Let me investigate it!”. Rather, someone has to bring their petition before the Church’s Tribunal. This is what happens in the introductory stage. Canon 1674 states, “The following are qualified to challenge a marriage: the spouses”. For instance, a man is already separated from his wife. He believes that his wife only married him for his money. After their wedding, she was very cold with him and they always slept in separate bedrooms. The wife never wanted to consummate their marriage and by her actions illustrated she did not value any common conjugal life with the man. It was all for money and security. With all of this experience, the man petitions the Church tribunal for an annulment. He submits his petition form which describes his personal and marital history, his spouse’s behaviors, and states his claim. Then, the judge examines the man’s petitions and determines whether or not he has standing in the trial. If the judge finds the petition reasonable in law, he then summons the respondent to the “formulation of the doubt”. The judge will ask both parties to come to the tribunal to help him formulate the doubt on which the marriage will be examined. Put simply, the judge will determine what is/are the real grounds for nullity/annulment in their marriage.
In my past life as the “go-to” person for helping people petition for annulments, one common question I got was, “Why does my ex-spouse have to know? Why does he or she have to get involved? We know that when people are petitioning for an annulment there was already a break-up. In some cases, it was a very bad and sad break up. Sometimes, the party’s feelings are legitimate because there was abuse in the marriage. However, one of the principles of the natural law is the right of defense. If someone makes a claim against us, we should have the right to defend ourselves. In a marriage nullity trial therefore, each spouse has a right to participate. Now as we will see later, this does not mean the parties are both present during the judicial examination or have to sit next to each other throughout the entire process. It just means each party is called to participate and offer their side of the story. This helps the judge/s in determining the truth of the matter.
The second stage is the instruction stage. This is the longest stage of the trial. It is a period in which the judge gathers information about the parties and their marriage. Fr. Michael Foster, in Annulment: The Wedding that Was, explains this part by writing, “The petitioner and respondent present their respective declarations. The witnesses that they have named are contacted for their testimonies. Expert witnesses may be called, such as mental health professionals or medical doctors. Documents may be requested, such as counselors’ reports, hospital admissions paperwork or criminal records” (Foster 135-136). All this occurs in the Instruction stage. We saw in the beginning, a claim of marriage nullity was made. The judge then determined the real question/ground to be answered and treated. In the instruction stage, the judge gathers the information from parties, witnesses, and documents to help him uncover the truth of the matter.
After the instruction comes the discussion stage. In this part, the judge shows all the parties, petitioner, respondent, and defender of the bond, the acts of the trial. He shows them what each party has stated under oath. The purpose of this stage is for the parties to see what others have mentioned and they are given the opportunity to respond. The defender of the bond always has the right to be heard last in the trial. This stage gives the parties another chance to argue their positions to help the judge/s make a decision.
The fourth stage is the decision stage. As we have seen, the judge/s has gathered all the proofs and arguments of the parties. Here, the judge/s study all the arguments and set a date on which they deliberate on the matter. In their meeting, they deliberate about the matter and consider the relevant laws surrounding the case. At the end, each judge offers his or her vote on the marriage. They state whether they conclude if marriage is valid or not. Once a majority decision is reached, one of the judges is responsible for writing the definitive sentence. This sentence issuing a negative or affirmative will be communicated to all the parties.
The fifth stage is only an option, known as the appeal stage. At this point, the parties see what the judge/s decided on their marriage case. If it is an affirmative on the annulment, the parties are free to marry. If one of the parties is not happy with the outcome(a negative sentence), they also have a right to appeal to the court of Second Instance. The parties can either appeal to the ordinary appellate court of the tribunal or even to the Roman Rota, the “Supreme Court” of marriage nullity trials. Generally, marriage cases in the first instance last about one year. Appeals or marriage cases in the second instance are to last 6 months.
These are the players and stages of the marriage nullity trial. There is of course much more that could be written about it. For the purpose of this article though, my hope was to give a brief and general overview of the annulment process. For many, this can be a very contentious process and sometimes feel an extension of one’s civil divorce (sometimes ugly). The Church is concerned for one’s right to due process, self-defense, and the dignity of marriage. Overall, it is a necessary process from which the judges weigh the case in law and in fact, with God alone before their eyes, and render a sentence of truth.