Appealing an annulment

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If the tribunal rules against a declaration of nullity, and the case is appealed to the higher court, and the higher court rules in favor of the annulment, does the case then have to go to the Roman Rota?
 
The court to hear the appeal is the Roman Rota, but you file with the court that made the last ruling. This should help.
 
The diocesan bishop can petition to the Apostolic Signatura to have the third instance tried elsewhere. See Canon Law Digest, v. 11, pp. 344-347 (Canon 1445) for an example.
 
Thanks for the responses, but now I am even more confused because of a link that someone else sent me. This video by father Mark Gurtner who I think is a tribunal judge, seems pretty clear at about a minute and fifteen seconds into it that a negative at eh court of first instance needs only an affirmative at the court of second instance and need not go to the Rota anymore. Am I missing something? youtube.com/watch?v=kd9TwfA4pv0&t=3879s
 
Are both spouses in agreement that the marriage is null, or is one spouse arguing that the marriage is valid?
 
Well, I think it is null, And she is cooperating and not in opposition to a declaration of nullity… Not sure if that is exactly considered support.
 
OK, so you’re actually appealing a finding of validity, not a finding of nullity.
 
Not appealing anything yet. I am two years into the process with no verdict in sight, and for a variety of reasons have lost all confidence in the system. If the annulment is not granted I hope to hire a canon lawyer so that I can at least have some confidence that the case was handled with due diligence.
 
If your decision comes back negative, then you would be better off refiling with new grounds or new evidence instead of appealing the first decision.
 
Just_Lurking said:
If your decision comes back negative, then you would be better off refiling with new grounds or new evidence instead of appealing the first decision.
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I’d have to disagree with that, at least in general.

First, due to the procedural changes introduced by Pope Francis, only one “affirmative” decision can be effective (see the current canon 1679). There is no requirement for an “automatic appeal” to a higher court for review/ratification/confirmation. Affirmative decisions mark the end of the case, no matter which Court issues the decision (1st, 2nd, 3rd instance). The exception to this is if a Party actually appeals the decision.

So, if tribunal A gives an affirmative decision and nobody appeals it, the process ends.

If tribunal A gives a negative decision, a Party can appeal it to the ordinary, second instance court (tribunal B). If tribunal B gives an affirmative decision and nobody appeals it, the process ends. This is why I disagree with your comment. A petitioner loses nothing by appealing a first instance negative decision. The “chances for success” may be limited but the

In the past, it may have been prudent to seek other grounds since that negative decision would not only have to receive an affirmative at the second instance but also at the Roman Rota. That was not an impossibility but was also not likely. It would have all depended on the case itself, of course.

Dan
 
Well, if you want to to appeal a negative decision (i.e. the marriage is valid), then yeah, it may appear easier to refile on a new ground than appeal the negative decision. However, failure to appeal is quite wasteful, as it means the decision will stand, even though it may have been wrong and liable to being changed by the higher court. Since refiling is something one can always do later, it would be more prudent to not omit to exhaust the first ground first, even though there might appear to be more merit or chance of success in a new filing than in the appeal.

But if the decision one disagrees with is affirmative (i.e. a finding of nullity) then there’s nothing for the losing respondent to refile, because it was the winning petitioner who filed.
 
Alright, how does one come to learn the truth of this matter? I have found several diocesan websites that indicate that if a court of first instance rules in the negative and a court of second instance rules in the affirmative that the case DOES NOT have to go to the Rota, and my diocese and the neighboring diocese says that it WOULD have to go to the Rota.
I have had conflicting opinions voiced by various canon lawyers.

This is very important to me, as I have lost all faith in my diocese and if I have to go another six months for an appeal that would essentially do nothing since if successful at the appeal level it has to go to Rome, then I think I would just like to withdraw the case and end this agony. Maybe in another time or place try again, or maybe not.

Just looking for clear advice on the procedure for appeals, I am not seeking personal or spiritual advice here. Thanks
 
mgstf said:
if a court of first instance rules in the negative and a court of second instance rules in the affirmative that the case DOES NOT have to go to the Rota
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Correct. It does not go to the Rota. One affirmative decisions end the process if neither party appeals. It would only go to the Rota if one of the parties appealed. If no one appeals the affirmative decision becomes effective.

See Dan’s post above. He is a canon lawyer and he is trustworthy.

You can reach out to the St Joseph Foundation for assistance should you need a canon lawyer:

stjosephcanonlaw.com
 
“Have you considered that your marriage may be valid?”

Irishmom2 and Adam Do you realize just how patronizing such a comment is? It may not have been intended to be insulting, but to anyone who has suffered the pain of a failed marriage , years of counseling , and the agonizing annulment process it comes across as extremely arrogant and insulting.

I dont know if that was a serious question or not, but yes, I have thought about it, night and day, for many years.
 
mgstf said:
Alright, how does one come to learn the truth of this matter? I have found several diocesan websites that indicate that if a court of first instance rules in the negative and a court of second instance rules in the affirmative that the case DOES NOT have to go to the Rota, and my diocese and the neighboring diocese says that it WOULD have to go to the Rota.
I have had conflicting opinions voiced by various canon lawyers.

This is very important to me, as I have lost all faith in my diocese and if I have to go another six months for an appeal that would essentially do nothing since if successful at the appeal level it has to go to Rome, then I think I would just like to withdraw the case and end this agony. Maybe in another time or place try again, or maybe not.

Just looking for clear advice on the procedure for appeals, I am not seeking personal or spiritual advice here. Thanks
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I took a look at website in question. I can see why you are confused. Instead of relying on the website, though, it would be much better if you could speak to the Judicial Vicar (or someone at the Tribunal who is knowledgeable when it comes to procedural matters and has some authority) and lay out the specifics of your question: if a case receives a negative in first instance but an affirmative in second instance, must the case automatically go to the Rota? The brief remark on the website may be implying what it does not mean to imply (i.e., it actually addresses an affirmative sentence, appealed, then negative sentence scenario…and doesn’t mean to address all scenarios).

From what you have said, though, I know it’s not easy to talk to anyone at the Tribunal. That’s lamentable.

Dan
 
Thank you Dans0622,

The closest I have been able to get to speaking with someone in authority was to the secretary at the diocese would hear the appeal. She told me that she presented my question to the Judicial Vicar and that he said that any verdict conflicting with a lower level verdict would automatically be sent to Rome.

It makes no sense to me that if that is the case why anyone would care to appeal at that level instead of just appealing to Rome directly.

Anyway, Thanks again for your thoughts!
 
More confusion! I dont know where to turn. This from the diocese where an appeal would be heard, is in direct conflict with what I have seen on other diocesan websites.

"In answer to your March 9th e-mail – yes if you receive an affirmative decision from XXXXXX Tribunal you would need to send it to the Roman Rota as you need two conforming decisions. As far as the length of time the appeal would take it depends but usually six months.

Ecclesiastical Notary
Diocesan Tribunal"
xxxxxxxxxx
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