JERICHO – On Friday afternoon, November 25th, till Sunday noon, November 27th, the Ecclesiastical Court of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem and Nazareth is organizing a specialized course about canon law at the Oasis Hotel, formerly known as the Intercontinental Hotel, in Jericho.
40 lawyers from different parts of Jerusalem, the West Bank and Galilee will attend this 3-day meeting. All are seeking to get more familiar with the church’s legal affairs in order to obtain the license that will enable them to practice law in ecclesiastical courts.
The program of the session includes legal explanations, presented by Fr. Majdi Syriani, president of the Court of Appeal of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, Amman, and Nazareth. This course focuses on Canon Law 1095 and its three clauses, which are about matrimonial consent. Impossibility to contract marriage may notably be justified by the inability to bear the duties and essential requirements required of the sacrament of marriage. i.e. to understand, to be aware, and to be able. It also includes inability due to a psychological issue.
There will also be a lecture about the legal reforms based on the apostolic letter Mitis Iudex (“The Lord Jesus the Clement Judge”), which entered into force in 2015 – a new legal mechanism that aims to shorten the procedure of many trials, in special cases defined by papal acquittal. The lawyer Khader Habash, legal advisor of the Ecclesiastical court, will be presenting the trial procedures and the role of the lawyer, and explain the regulations and interlocutory requests presented during the trial as well as the right way to follow up on the case. Then Fr. Aktham Hijazin will moderate a dialogue discussing the legal pleadings and difficulties faced by lawyers in ecclesiastical courts
Since 2012, the Ecclesiastical Court of the Latin Patriarchate has been organizing specialized courses and conferences to help lawyers practice canon law. In July 2022, a specialized legal conference was held in the city of Aqaba (Jordan), to which 73 lawyers participated.
By: lpj.org
