Table of contents

1. Introduction. The Concordats in the conciliar documents - 2. The concordats in the supranational legal theatre of the third millennium. Reconsideration of the doctrines of ius publicum ecclesiasticum externum on the legal nature of concordats in favour of their internationalist 'inter pares' profile - 4. Affinity of concordat law with the normative doctrines of 'spontaneous law' and radical harmonisation with the international principle of coexistence between states - 5. An overview of the concordat. a) reference to conciliar teachings; b) enunciation of the universal value of religious freedom; c) principle of collaboration and reciprocity within the framework of the presupposed principle of autonomy and independence; d) explicit reference to the instruments of international and community law - 6. Transformation of the Covenant legal model: in content and terminological formulas. From the traditional privilegium to leadership in defence of human rights - 7. ...and in the constitutive structure: the affirmation of the “Concordat-framework” over the “Concordat-parallel” and “Concordat-contract” models. Innovative value of the Preamble - 8. ...and in the interlocutors: the increasingly decisive negotiating role assumed by the Bishops' Conferences - 9. Conclusion