Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 85 No. 1, 2015.
Review article
Obstacles for Marriage in Light of the Family and Canon Law
Ivan Šimović
; Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Republic of Croatia is a secular state in which all religious communities are equal in front of the law and separated from the state, although there is a special connection between the Catholic Church and the state that is evident even today. This connection is most evident when it comes to the institution of marriage and presuppositions that are needed in order to enter into marriage, i.e. obstacles for marriage that disqualify one from being able to enter into marriage. Namely, by signing contract with the Holy Sea, Republic of Croatia has given some of its authority and responsibilities concerning lawful formation of marriage to the Catholic Church. This, of course, concerns only religious marriages that have civil eff ects, and its specifi city is that both canonical and civil marriages are formed in one ceremony. In this article the author tried to show what the mutual relationship between articles of the Family Law is, which regulate those issues that have to do with obstacles for marriage, and the articles of the Code of Canon Law, which regulate impediments for entering into religious marriage that are in terms of their content, similar to obstacles for marriage defined in the family law. Some of the obstacles for marriage present in the contemporary family law are already, although in a slightly different form, present in the canon law and even in the Roman law, as one of the oldest known legal systems. The connection between these three legal systems is to be found in Christianity that was, during one period, the dominating religion in the Roman state. All of this points toward co-relationship between the canon law and the Croatian family law, which is evident in that part of both laws that regulate entering into religious marriage with civil effects.
Keywords
marriage; matrimony; religious marriage with civil effects; obstacles for marriage; impediments for marriage; Contracts between the Holy Sea and the Republic of Croatia on Legal Issues
Hrčak ID:
138501
URI
Publication date:
30.4.2015.
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