Jus novum (c. 1140-1563) Jus novissimum (c. 1563-1918) Jus codicis (1918-present) Other Sacraments Sacramentals Sacred places Sacred times Supra-diocesan/eparchal structures Particular churches Juridic persons Philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law Clerics Office Juridic and physical persons Associations of the faithful Pars dynamica (trial procedure) Canonization Election of the Roman Pontiff Academic degrees Journals and Professional Societies Faculties of canon law Canonists Institute of consecrated life Society of apostolic life The matrimonial nullity trial reforms of Pope Francis are the reforms of the Canon law of the Catholic Church governing such trials, made public on 8 September 2015.
The reforms were effected by two separate apostolic letters[1] from Pope Francis: the motu proprio Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus amending the 1983 Code of Canon Law, and the motu proprio Mitis et misericors Iesus amending the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.
[2] This was in response to the bishops who, during the 2014 Synod on the Family, called for the simplification of the procedure whereby a canonically invalid marriage is declared null.
[1] Kurt Martens, a canon law professor, worries that the reduction in procedure will not guarantee a fair trial.
[1] In an article published by conservative religious journal First Things, Martens stated that many Italian jurists fear that there might be a spike in conflicts between the canonical, Italian, and European Union judicial systems, since the reforms abolish a number of "basic due process norms" which are neither respected nor acknowledged.