Dioces of Nottingham - Marriage Tribunal

1 What is marriage?

The Catholic Church teaches that marriage is, by God's plan, an enduring and exclusive partnership between a man and a woman for the giving and receiving of love and for the procreation and education of children. For those who have been baptised, a valid marriage is also a Sacrament.
The Catholic Church also teaches that every sacramental marriage that has been consummated is indissoluble. This is in accordance with the Gospels, the writings of St Paul and centuries of Christian tradition.
Although not every marriage is a Sacrament, every marriage, or at least every initial marriage, including a marriage between two non-Catholics, is presumed to be valid.

2 How, then, is a declaration of nullity possible?

In every presumption, the opposite may be true. If the evidence shows that a particular marriage is invalid, i.e. that from the beginning it suffered from a radical defect, the original presumption no longer holds. It bears repeating that, in order to render a marriage invalid, the radical defect must be present from the beginning, that is, at the time of the wedding ceremony. No defect that might arise during the marriage would have the power of turning a valid marriage into an invalid one. However, when it can be proved that a particular marriage was, in fact, never valid in the first place, then the Church may declare it null.

It is important to understand the meaning of a declaration of nullity. It does not deny that a real relationship existed, nor does it imply that the relationship was entered into with ill will or moral fault. Rather, it is a statement by the Church that, from the very outset, the relationship lacked one of the elements which the Church considers are essential to Christian marriage.

3 Are there any civil implications to a declaration of nullity?

There are absolutely no civil implications in the United Kingdom to a declaration of nullity by the Church. It does not affect in any manner the legitimacy of children, property rights, inheritance rights, names, etc. It is simply a declaration from the Catholic Church that a particular union, presumably begun in good faith and thought by all to be a marriage was, in fact, an invalid union as the Church defines marriage. There is no attempt in the investigation to impute guilt or to punish persons. On the contrary, the purpose of the procedure is to help people live out their lives in peace with God and their own consciences.

4 What is the purpose of the Tribunal?

Church Law calls for the existence of a Tribunal in every diocese of the world. The Diocesan Tribunal, a staff of specially trained and experienced priests, deacons, religious and lay persons, offers assistance to persons who request that the Church study a marriage in order to determine whether or not there is any possibility of a declaration of nullity. The Tribunal then investigates the marriage and on completion of the investigation, declares whether or not nullity has been proved.

5 How does one request a declaration of nullity?

The process is begun by a person completing an application form and sending it to the Tribunal. Such a form is available from the Tribunal.

Once the application form is received the Applicant will be interviewed by a member of the Tribunal. If, the marital history gives some indication that the marriage was possibly null, a Petition is drawn up and a Court is constituted to investigate the case. The Applicant is now referred to as a Petitioner. If there is no indication of nullity in the marital history, the Applicant will be invited to discuss the position with the Judicial Vicar ( the priest in charge of the Tribunal).

The Court consists of a Presiding Judge and two Associate Judges. The other essential member is the Defender of the Bond, who makes sure that all the necessary procedural steps have been followed, and who examines all the information gathered from the parties and their witnesses, then furnishes the Judges with Observations designed to assist them in their deliberations. The Petitioner seeks to have the marriage declared null, whilst the Defender of the Bond highlights those elements in the case which would seem to indicate that the invalidity of the marriage has not been established (thus defending the validity of the marriage bond).

As the process continues, the Tribunal personnel dealing with your case will be happy to give you any advice or assistance you may need and ensure that the procedures are carried out in a satisfactory manner. In certain circumstances an Advocate maybe appointed for either party.

6 What about the former spouse?

Shortly after the Petition is accepted, the former spouse, or Respondent, is contacted by the Tribunal, given an opportunity to see the Petition, and invited to give evidence and to nominate witnesses. This contact is required by the universal law of the Catholic Church.

It is important for the Tribunal to have an accurate, current address of the Respondent. If this is not available, then the Tribunal must have the last known address, together with the address of a family member through whom the Respondent may be contacted. It has been the experience of the Tribunal that in many cases the Respondent is willing to offer testimony.

7 What about witnesses?

The petitioner will be asked to provide the names and addresses of witnesses, people who knew the husband and the wife and can describe how the marriage went. Key witnesses are those who knew both parties prior to and during the marriage. In addition in some cases, any experts, such as doctors, psychiatrists, counsellors, etc could be important. Shortly after the signing of the Petition, the witnesses will be contacted and arrangements made to interview them locally.

8 What about confidentiality?

In view of the nature of the information it receives, the Tribunal regards all matters as confidential. Members of the Tribunal take an Oath of Secrecy on their appointment.

By Canon Law the Respondent has a right to receive a copy of the Petition.

Both parties have a right to read the gathered evidence with the proviso that highly sensitive material may be excluded by the Presiding Judge.  If either party wishes to inspect the documents then arrangements are made with the Tribunal Office.

Both parties have the right to inspect the text of the final decision reached by the Tribunal.

9 What about disclosures relating to children or vulnerable adults?

In conformity with our child protection and vulnerable adults procedures, any disclosures made concerning abuse involving children or vulnerable adults will be passed to our Diocesan Safeguarding Co-Ordinator who will determine what action, if any, needs to be taken in accord with civil child protection legislation – please be aware of this.

10 What about the Data Protection Act?

All the information gathered for the case will be used to process your application for a declaration of nullity of marriage by the Matrimonial Tribunal of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nottingham, according to the rules and procedures as laid out in the Roman Catholic Church’s Code of Canon Law, and for the purposes of informing you about the outcome of your application.

It will be updated whenever fresh information is supplied and will be held for a period of ten years after the date of the final decision regarding the nullity application, and will be destroyed when the information is no longer required.

You will be required to give your explicit consent to the processing of such data.

11 What about records?

The Petitioner will be asked to supply the Tribunal with details of the date and place of his/her Baptism and Marriage, as well as a copy the Divorce Decree Absolute. Prior to the final decree of civil divorce, no petition for a Church declaration of nullity will be considered by the Tribunal.

12 When is the case decided?

After all the evidence has been compiled, the Defender of the Bond studies the case and submits Observations questioning the strengths of the evidence. If there is an Advocate s/he will submit pleadings. The Presiding Judge then meets with the two Associate Judges to give the decision.

13 Is the Tribunal's decision final?

If the Tribunal makes a decision in favour of nullity of the marriage the Church requires an automatic appeal process. When the Tribunal reaches its decision, all of the documents and evidence is then passed to the Appeal Tribunal ( in this case of the Nottingham Diocese this is the Westminster Metropolitan Tribunal). At this stage, either party can lodge a formal appeal, in which case a panel of Judges will review the case in detail. If no appeal is lodged, the same panel of Judges will review the case less formally. In any event, the case will be reviewed by the Appeal Tribunal to ensure that the investigation has been handled properly and that the rights of all concerned have been respected.
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If the original decision was affirmative, that is, the Judges conclude that the evidence indicates that the marriage in question is null, and if the Appeal Tribunal agrees with this decision, a Decree of Nullity is granted.

Both parties have the right to appeal to the Holy See.

If the original decision was negative the Plaintiff has the right to appeal.

If the Appeal Tribunal agrees with this first negative decision the Church continues to recognise the marriage.

If the Appeal Tribunal reverses the first decision there will be a third and final hearing in Rome or with special permission in another Metropolitan Tribunal.

14 Is remarriage in the Catholic Church allowed?

If the marriage is declared null, and there are no restrictions concerning remarriage, the usual procedure of preparing for marriage in the Catholic Church may be started with the local parish priest.

If a marriage is declared null due to a possibly ongoing cause, a second marriage obviously would not be permitted until it has been demonstrated that the cause which invalidated the first marriage has been removed or such time as appropriate counselling has been provided.

No date for a wedding should be scheduled in any Catholic parish until the procedure has been completed.

15 Is there a fee for Tribunal services?

The Tribunal asks the Petitioner to contribute towards the costs involved in a declaration of nullity investigation.

Where there is genuine hardship, the Tribunal will waive part or all of the contribution towards costs. The ability or inability to pay in no way affects the progress or outcome of a request.

Financial considerations should not discourage any person from making an application.

CONTACTS

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Address:

Tribunal Office
Willson House
Derby Road
Nottingham
NG1 5AW

Telephone:-  01159539804
Fax:-   01159539808
e-mail marriage.tribunal@nrcdt.org.uk