Understanding Impediments to Marriage in Canon Law
ITEM 7: Impediments to Marriage in General
1. Ius Connubii: The Right to Marriage
The ius connubii refers to the right to marry, encompassing the rights and capabilities associated with entering into matrimony. Three fundamental rules govern the ius connubii:
- Everyone possesses the capacity to marry under the law, except for those explicitly prohibited.
- Any limitations on this autonomy must be considered exceptions to natural law and must be expressly established by law.
- In cases of doubtful incapacitation, marriage cannot be prevented, with the exception of situations defined by law.
The ius connubii carries the characteristics of universality, inalienability, and perpetuity. Celibacy, the voluntary assumption of a state incompatible with marriage, is not considered a renunciation of the ius connubii. The right to marry is not an obligation but a right, subject to the necessary intervention of positive law in its configuration.
Limitations on individual requirements for conjugal union are only justifiable when marriage would result in serious harm to property, personal well-being, or social order, of equal value to marriage itself. Marriage should not be prevented without compelling reasons.
2. Disabilities in General
Historically, the term “disability” in canonical doctrine referred to circumstances that opposed the validity or legality of the conjugal pact. These disabilities could arise from three sources:
- The person themselves (e.g., age)
- Consent (e.g., violence)
- Lack of formal requirements (e.g., absence of a priest)
However, the 1917 Code of Canon Law restricted the term “impediment” to circumstances related to the person of the spouses that hinder religious marriage. Issues related to consent are termed “consensual vices,” and those concerning the lack of formal requirements are called “defects of form.” This means that under the new legal regulations, no other norms can qualify as prohibitive legal obstacles to marriage.
Impediments are divided into categories such as physical disability, juridical disability, disability due to crime, and disability because of consanguinity.
3. Impediments Due to Physical Disability
These impediments refer to situations where a person is incapable of the conjugal act. Two key examples are:
* Age
Canon 1083 states that a man before the age of 16 and a woman before the age of 14 cannot validly marry. Episcopal conferences have the authority to raise these age limits for the lawfulness of marriage. In Spain, the age has been raised to 18, aligning with civil law. The old canon law allowed for dispensation in specific cases, granted by the ordinary or the judge in the first instance.
Unlike Spanish law, which provides for the recognition of marriages celebrated by minors who have lived together for a year after reaching the legal age, canon law dictates that the incapacity ceases upon reaching the prescribed age, and the marriage is automatically validated.
* Impotence
To be capable of marriage, both man and woman must be able to perform the conjugal act. Canon law distinguishes between impotence (inability to perform the conjugal act) and sterility (inability to procreate). Only the former invalidates marriage.
Canon 1084 states that antecedent and perpetual impotence, whether absolute or relative, nullifies marriage by its very nature. If the impediment is doubtful, the marriage should not be prevented or declared null.
Requirements for Impotence as an Impediment:
- Antecedent: The impotence must exist before the marriage.
- Perpetual: The impotence must be incurable by ordinary and lawful means without danger to life or serious damage to health.
- Certain: If the impediment is doubtful, the marriage should not be prevented or declared null.