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    Published: 2026-09-28
    Vol. 69 No. 3 (2026)

    The Significance of a Vacant Office in the Context of the Canonical Provision in the Canonical Legal Order. Reflections on the Background of can. 153 § 1-3 CIC/83 and can. 943 § 1-3 CCEO

    Ginter Dzierżon
    Prawo Kanoniczne
    Section: Articles and dissertations
    DOI https://doi.org/10.21697/pk.2026.69.3.03

    Abstract

    The problem addressed: In canonical literature, the issue of the conferral of an office has been addressed in many publications. However, in the studies a particular aspect has not been sufficiently explored: the definition of the significance of a vacant office in the context of the canonical provision. This article focuses primarily on two regulations: can. 153 § 1-3 CIC/83 and can. 943 § 1-3 CCEO.

    The aim of the research conducted: The aim of this article is to investigate the significance of a vacant office from the perspective of the underlying principles of the theory of the juridical act. Therefore, two research objectives were formulated, concerning the theoretical-legal assumptions of these solutions and their ratio legis.

    Methods: This article employs dogmatic-legal and comparative methods.

    The results of the research: The analysis demonstrates that a vacant office must be understood as a praesuppositum of the institution of the canonical provision. The ratio legis of can. 153 § 2 CIC/83 and can. 943 § 2 CCEO is understood as: protection of the subjective legal rights of the incumbents, ensuring the proper identification of the conferring authority, and assuring good order in the exercise of the power of governance. The Author connects the irrelevance of the promise to confer an office with the interpretative intention characterized by the fact that the will of an individual acts inertly.

    The conclusions drawn from the research: The provisions in can. 153 § 1-3 CIC/83 and can. 943 § 1-3 CCEO are subordinate to the concept of a vacant office, which is considered a praesuppositum of the canonical provision. On the basis of thus made assumption invalid provision of an office, which is not vacant, follows logically. However, the provisions in can. 153 § 2 CIC/83 and can. 943 § 2 CCEO, which allow for the conferral of an office for a limited period of six months prior to its vacancy, should be viewed as exceptions to the general rule established in can. 153 § 2 CIC/83 and can. 943 § 2 CCEO. The Author proposes that in such cases, the correct term is not "conferral of an office," but rather "designation to an office."

    Keywords:

    ecclesiastical office, vacant office, canonical provision

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    Dzierżon, G. (2026). The Significance of a Vacant Office in the Context of the Canonical Provision in the Canonical Legal Order. Reflections on the Background of can. 153 § 1-3 CIC/83 and can. 943 § 1-3 CCEO. Prawo Kanoniczne, 69(3), 51–64. https://doi.org/10.21697/pk.2026.69.3.03

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