JCL Comprehensive Exam References
Review questions for JCL Comprehensive Exam
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Book I - General Norms (cc. 1-6)
- What other sources of law exist beyond the 1983 Code of Canon Law (cc. 1-2)?
- What things are not abrogated by the 1983 Code of Canon Law (cc. 3-5)?
- What things are abrogated by the 1983 Code of Canon Law (c. 6)?
Title I - Ecclesiastical Laws (c. 7-22)
- The word "law" is not defined explicitly in the code. What is a law?
- What is meant by divine law? natural law? positive law? merely ecclesiastical law?
- How is a law promulgated (c. 8)?
- When does a law take effect (c. 8)?
- Who is bound by a law (cc. 11-12)?
- What is the significance of identifying a particular law as territorial versus personal (c. 13)?
- What is a doubt of law? A doubt of fact (c. 14)?
- What is an authentic interpretation and who can authentically interpret the law (c. 16)?
- How are ecclesiastical laws to be interpreted (c. 17)?
- What laws are subject to strict interpretation (c. 18)?
- What is a lacuna legis and how is it resolved (c. 19)?
- How are differences between earlier and later laws resolved? How are differences between universal and particular law resolved (c. 20)?
Title II - Custom (cc. 23-28)
- Who introduces a custom (c. 23)?
- What is the status of a custom that has been approved by the respective legislator (c. 23)?
- What is the status of a custom that has been expressly reprobated by the respective legislator (c. 24)?
- What is the difference between a custom praeter legem and a custom contra legem?
- Even if contrary to the law, what is the significance of the observance of a custom for 30 years or 100 years (c. 26)?
Title III - General Decrees and Instructions (cc. 29-34)
- What is a general decree? Who has the authority to issue it (cc. 29-30)?
- What is a general executory decree? Who has the authority to issue it (c. 31)?
- Are general decrees and general executory decrees considered to be laws properly speaking?
- What is an instruction? How is a conflict between an instruction and a law resolved? How does this differ from the praxis of the Roman Curia (c. 34)?
Title IV - Singular Administrative Acts (cc. 35-93)
- What types of singular administrative acts are mentioned in the code (cc. 35ff)?
- What is an singular administrative act? How does it differ from a general administrative act?
- What must a vicar general do to issue a valid singular administrative act that is contrary to a particular law in his diocese (c. 38)?
- What is the significance of the particles "if," "unless," or "provided that," is a singular administrative act (c. 39)?
- Is an executor required for an administrative act issued forma gratiosa or forma commissionia? What discretion does an executor have when executing an administrative act (c. 37)?
- What is a singular decree (c. 48)?
- What is a precept (c. 49)?
- What must be contained in a decree (cc. 50-51)?
- How long does a competent authority generally have to issue a decree in response to recourse? What presumption is made if no response is given (c. 57)?
- What is a rescript (c. 59)?
- What is a privilege (c. 76)?
- What is a dispensation (c. 85)?
- If a vicar general denies a favor, under what circumstances can the favor be granted by another vicar or by the diocesan bishop (c. 65)?
- If a law is issued contrary to a previously granted privilege, what is the status of that privilege (c. 73)?
- Who has the power of dispensing? What laws can a competent authority dispense (cc. 86-89)?
Title V - Statutes and Rules of Order
(cc. 94-95)
- What are statues (c. 94)?
- Who must have statues (c. 117)?
- What are rules of order (ordines) (c. 95)?
Title VI - Physical and Juridic Persons
(cc. 96-123)
- What are the juridic consequences of baptism in canon 96? What effects of baptism are mentioned in canon 204?
- What elements qualify the status of a person in the Church?
- What are the significant ages found in canon law?
- What is meant by non sui compos (cc. 97 and 99)?
- What is consanguinity and how is it computed (c. 108)?
- What is affinity (c. 109)?
- How does one acquire domicile and a quasi-domicile (c. 102)?
- How does one lose domicile (c. 106)?
- At what age can one freely choose to be baptized in the Latin Church, or another ritual Church (c. 111)?
- How does canon law view children who are adopted? How does civil law affect this canon (c. 110)?
- What is a physical (natural) person, a juridic person, and a moral person?
- Are the Catholic Church and the Apostolic See juridic persons (c. 113)?
- In what two ways is a juridic person constituted (c. 114 §1)?
- What are the purposes in keeping with the mission of the Church for which a juridic person can be constituted (c. 114 §2)?
- What are universitates personarum and a universitates rerum (c. 114 §3)?
- What is a collegial and a non-collegial juridic person (c. 115 §2)?
- What document must all juridic persons have and which must be approved by competent ecclesiastical authority (c. 117)?
- What are public juridic persons (c. 116)?
- What happens to the patrimony of public juridic persons that are joined? What happens to the patrimony of a juridic person that is divided (cc. 121-122)?
Distinguish public and private juridic persons in the following questions:
- In what ways can public and private juridic persons be constituted (c. 116 §2)?
- In whose name does a public and private juridic person function (c. 116 §1)?
- Who governs a public and a private juridic person (c. 118)?
- How do the goods of public and private juridic persons differ (c. 1257)?
- How is a public and private juridic person extinguished (c. 120)?
- When a public or private juridic person is extinguished, where do the goods, rights, and obligations of the juridic person go (c. 123)?
Title VII - Juridic Acts (cc. 124-128)
- What is required for the validity of a juridic act (c. 124)?
- What must a superior do if he is required to have the consent of a college or group before placing a juridic act? What must a superior do who must consult a college or group before placing a juridic act (c. 127)?
Title VIII - Power of Governance (cc. 129-144)
- Who is qualified (habiles) to exercise the power of governance in the Church (c. 129)?
- What is ordinary power of governance? Delegated power of governance (c. 131 §1)?
- What is proper power of governance? Vicarious power of governance (c. 131 §2)?
- Who are ordinaries? Who are local ordinaries (c. 134)?
- Power of governance is distinguished into what three types of power? Which of these types of power is exercised by a diocesan bishop, a vicar general, and a judicial vicar (c. 135)?
- Which two of these types of power are--as a general rule--not subject to delegation (c. 135)?
- What are the differences between power delegated for a single act and power delegated for all cases? Can this power be subdelegated (c. 137)? Is this delegation interpreted strictly or broadly (c. 138)?
- Does delegated power cease when the authority of the one delegating expires (c. 142 §1)? Compare this with the authority of a vicar general when a diocesan see becomes vacant (cc. 409 §2 and 418).
- Under what conditions does the Church supply (ecclesia supplet) the executive power of governance (c. 144)?
Title IX - Ecclesiastical Offices (cc. 145-196)
- What is an ecclesial office (c. 145)?
- An ecclesiastical office cannot be acquired without provision. What are the methods for providing for an office in the code (c. 147)?
- If the person lacks the required qualities, under what circumstances is the provision of an office invalid (c. 149)?
- What is meant by an office that entails the full care of souls (c. 150)?
- What is the status of a provision of an office that is not vacant (c. 153)?
- What juridic effect does a promise of ecclesial office have (c. 153 §3)?
- Who confers ecclesial offices in the particular church? What is the manner of conferring offices generally in a particular church (c. 157)?
- What is presentation (c. 158)?
- A person presented for an office does not acquire the office until what has taken place (cc. 158 and 163)?
- What rights does the presenting party have if the one presented is not accepted (c. 161)?
- Give two examples of an ecclesiastical office that is filled by election.
- Give some examples of ways in which an election is rendered invalid (cc. 166 §3, 169, 170, and 173 §3)
- If an election does not require confirmation, how does a person who has been elected acquire the office (c. 178)?
- What is a teller and what does a teller do (c. 173)?
- What is postulation (c. 180)?
- How can an ecclesiastical office be lost (c. 184)?
- Give an example of a person who loses an ecclesiastical office by the law itself (c. 194).
Title X - Prescription (cc. 197-199)
- What is prescription (c. 197)?
- How does "good faith" affect prescription (c. 198)?
- Some rights and obligations are so essential that they cannot be lost or discarded by prescription. Give some examples of things that are not subject to prescription (c. 199).
Title XI - Computation of Time (cc. 200-203)
- What is the distinction between continuous time (tempus continuum) and useful or available time (tempus utile) (c. 201)?
- Canonically, when does the day begin (c. 202)?
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