The Meaning of Corpus Iuris Canonici for Valid Canon Law

Abstract

The compilation Corpus Iuris Canonici had represented the main source of Canon Law de facto from the time of its enclosing approximately about the year 1500, de iure from the time of its approbation by the pope Gregory XIII. in the year 1580, until the promulgation of first Latin Code of Canon Law in the year 1917. Even though we can not identify this compilation as official or exclusive it had influenced the development of this legal system for more than four hundred centuries and contributed considerably to the constitution of the present form of above mentioned legal system. The meaning of Corpus of Canon Law, comprising of five individual compilations, can not be reduced only to the standard of material source of law from the point of view of valid law since the valid Code refers to the older law and to its possible application on concrete legal causes indirectly. The main goal of this article is to point out individual stages of development of this compilation, its characterization and the way of its application as the positive law, not forgetting to mention its meaning for valid Canon Law.