CAPUT NULLITATIS MATRIMONII

Abstract

To judicially overcome the unsuccessful marriage, the spouses have to make application for the marriage annulment (nullity) before the Competent Ecclesiastical Tribunal. Annulment is a canonical procedure according to the Church's Canon Law whereby an ecclesial tribunal judges when the bond of matrimony in a particular case was judicially ended. Declaration of Nullity" is a determination that a marriage is not valid any longer. It is indispensable to understand the grounds for marriage annulment before making an application. There are many marital situations in which the tribunal can offer assistance. It may be that a couple has entered a marriage with an impediment, such as a previous bond of marriage; or that their consent was invalid, because they have no necessary capacity, knowledge or will to consent to marriage; or that there was something wrong with the form of marriage used. These situations become Capita Nullitatis (the causes or the grounds of nullity). After an examination of these situations by the competent ecclesiastical tribunal, the Church can declare the nullity of a marriage, i.e., that the marital bond was invalid from its beginning (ab initio) and the contracting parties are free to get married again.