Canonical marriage nullity cases in Malta on the grounds of canon 1095 of the Code of Canon Law : a content analysis

Abstract

This paper is dealing with canonical marriage nullity cases before the Malta Metropolitan tribunal on the grounds of canon 1095 of the Code of Canon Law. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse twenty judgments from the years 2008 to 2017. The aim of this analysis was to find out whether there has been any development in the interpretation given by the Tribunal regarding this canon. Through this method the following questions were answered: Is the law being applied uniformly or are different interpretations being adopted? Is new literature including commentaries from renowned authors and sentences from the Roman Rota being taken into consideration? And finally, are judgements issued by the Metropolitan Tribunal affected by developments taking place in the Civil Court? It resulted that, overall the canon has been applied uniformly and consistently throughout the years. However, the level of gravity necessary in canon 1095,3, which deals with the inability to assume the essential obligations of marriage due to a psychic cause, is widening. Furthermore, it was evident that all the judgments referred to literature. Nevertheless, the same sources of literature were frequently used and tended to be quite dated. They also frequently referred to the same point. Finally, it was also clear that these judgments were not influenced by developments in the Civil Court.