ABSTRCT
The nullity subject of this sentence “ob impedimentum vinculi seu ligaminis” has no significant counterpart in the local courts or in the Roman Rota and, therefore, the ruling of the Sardinian interdiocesan ecclesiastical court is even more interesting because it allows us to reflect on this ground of nullity. There are three closely connected profiles – substantive, procedural, pastoral – which lend themselves to a specific legal analysis.
From the first point of view, it is necessary to remember that the ’fate’ of each successive marriage is linked to that of the previous one, that is, in the case of several marriages celebrated, the first of them is presumed to be valid and takes legal and logical precedence, since the subsequent marriages must be declared null and void ex eo, it being understood that if the first marriage is declared null and void, the second marriage must be considered valid from then on.
From a procedural point of view, the judgment in question is characterised by the choice of the judicial Vicar to use the ordinary procedure instead of the documentary one, even though, in the case in question, all the legal requirements were met. The choice seems to be based on the one hand on the need to better guarantee the right to defence and, on the other hand, it is justified by the consideration that following the 2015 reform which, among other things, eliminated the obligation of double conformity, the technical time of the ordinary trial has been considerably reduced.
Moreover, from a more exquisitely pastoral point of view, which is no less important than the strictly legal one, cases such as the one referred to in the judgment under discus- sion denote the importance and necessity of a careful and diligent premarital investigation to prevent the occurrence of bigamy.
Finally, in similar cases, there is a pressing need to integrate the action of the courts into the wider pastoral care of the family of the Church and to provide pastoral support after the conclusion of the process, to ensure that the declaration of nullity does not constitute a reason to undermine the trust in the Church of the faithful who are, despite themselves, involved in a process of matrimonial nullity.