Folia Theologica et Canonica 7. 29/21 (2018)
Lectio magistralis
12 S.E.R. FRANS DANEELS, O.Praem. I note the Secretary’s right, as judge of instruction, to reject a recourse in limine for lack of presuppositions, including the need for some fumus boni iuris, but in this case the right to trial remains, since the recurrent party may make recourse to the Prefect, and then the judicial process begins. There are also a very small number of other well-prepared internal collaborators, with whom the Signatura tries to cover the main languages. II. The single competences according to the Lex propria 1. Judicial causes (art. 33 LP) These judicial causes concern complaints of nullity against definitive decisions of the Roman Rota, requests for total reinstatement against decisions of the Roman Rota, recourses against the refusal of a new examination of a cause by the Roman Rota in cases concerning the status of persons, exceptions of suspicion against the judges of the Roman Rota, causes against these judges for acts performed in the exercise of their function, conflicts of competence either between the Roman Rota and another tribunal or between local tribunals which are not subject to the same local appeal tribunal in the Latin Church. The Apostolic Signatura, with the exception of a possible conflict of competence between local tribunals, therefore acts in these cases as supreme tribunal only in regard to the Roman Rota. It must be emphasized that, with the exception of the causes against the judges of the Roman Rota, the possible new judgment on the merits of the case remains with that tribunal, and not with the Apostolic Signatura. Regarding the conflicts of competence, likewise, the Signatura determines which of the conflicting tribunals is competent to judge on the merits of the case. Causes against judges of the Roman Rota are heard by the Signatura itself in order to guarantee the legitimacy of its proceedings. Almost every year there are some judicial causes, but exceptions of suspicion or causes against the judges of the Roman Rota as well as conflicts of competence between tribunals are extremely rare. It remains to be said that judicial cases before the Apostolic Signatura, although rather few, require a high degree of specialization in canonical procedural law. I note, finally, in parentheses that the Tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is a special tribunal and that the Apostolic Signatura is incompetent with regard to it.
