Reasons for a Total Simulation of Marital Consent in Judgements Pro Nullitate of the Metropolitan Tribunal in Kraków Passed Between 2010 and 2020

Abstract

The article deals with the important element inherent in proving the invalidity of marriage on the grounds of total simulation of marital consent (Canon 1101 § 1), which is the reason for simulation. I analyse all the decisions pro nullitate matrimonii of the Metropolitan Tribunal in Kraków handed down in the years 2010-2020. In the first part, the importance of causa simulationis at the instruction stage in the canonical process is presented. The essential part of this study is devoted to causa celebrandi and causa simulandi occurring in the presented jurisprudence. I also propose some legal and pastoral measures that may help to eliminate instances of invalid marriages, concluding that the causa simulandi is an important aid for judges to achieve moral certitude about the nullity of a marriage for the reasons stated above.