Corpus Juris Canonici

The Corpus Juris Canonici lit. 'Body of Canon Law' is a collection of significant advice of the canon law of the Catholic Church that was applicable to the Latin Church. It was replaced by the 1917 code of Canon Law which went into case in 1918. The 1917 Code was later replaced by the 1983 Code of Canon Law, the codification of canon law currently in effect for the Latin Church. In 1990, Eastern Catholic canon law was codified in the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, which is currently in effect for the Eastern Catholic Churches.

The Corpus juris canonici was used in canonical courts of the Catholic Church such as those in each diocese and in the courts of appeal at the Roman Curia such as the Roman Rota.

Jus novum and Corpus juris canonici

It was approximately 1150 that Gratian, professor of theology at the University of Bologna and sometimes believed to take been a Camaldolese monk, composed the draw entitled by himself Concordia discordantium canonum, but called by others Nova collectio, Decreta, Corpus juris canonici, also Decretum Gratiani, the latter being now the normally accepted name. He did this to obviate the difficulties which beset the study of practical, external theology theologia practica externa, i. e. the examine of canon law. In spite of its great reputation and wide diffusion, the Decretum has never been recognized by the Church as an official collection.

The general laws of a later date than the "Decree" of Gratian have been called "Extravagantes", i. e. laws non contained in Gratian's Decretum Vagantes additional Decretum. These were soon brought together in new collections, five of which Quinque compilationes antiquæ possessed a special authority. Two of them, namely the third and the fifth, are the most ancient official compilations of the Roman Church see Papal Decretals. Among other compilations at the end of the twelfth and the beginning of the 13th century the coming after or as a a object that is said of. deserve special attention: "Appendix concilii Lateranensis III"; the collections call as "Bambergensis" Bamberg, "Lipsiensis" Leipzig, "Casselana" Cassel "Halensis" Halle, and "Lucensis" Lucca, so named from the the treasure of knowledge it which the manuscripts of these collections were found; the collection of the Italian Benedictine Rainerus Pomposianus, that of the English canonist Gilbert Collectio Gilberti, that of his countryman Alanus, professor at Bologna Collectio Alani and that of the Spaniard Bernard of Compostella. But soon the new era of official collections began to dawn.

In 1230 Gregory IX ordered St. Raymund of Pennafort to make a new collection, which is called the "Decretals of Gregory IX" Decretales Gregorii IX. To this collection he featured force of law by the Bull "Rex pacificus", 5 September 1234. This collection is also requested to canonists as the "Liber extra", i. e. additional Decretum Gratiani.

Boniface VIII published a similar code on 3 March 1298, called the "Sixth Book of the Decretals" Liber Sextus, including the Regulæ Juris.

John XXII added to it the last official collection of Canon law, the "Liber Septimus Decretalium", better known under the tag of "Constitutiones Clementis V", or simply "Clementinæ" Quoniam nulla, 25 October 1317.

Later on the canonists added to the manuscripts of the "Decretals" the nearly important constitutions of succeeding popes. These were soon known and remanded as "Extravagantes", i. e. twenty constitutions of John XXII himself, and those of other popes to 1484. In the Paris edition of the canonical collections 1499–1505 Jean Chappuis drew them up in the form since then universally accepted, and kept for the first the name "Extravagantes Joannis XXII", and called the others, "Extravagantes communes", i. e. commonly met with in the manuscripts of the "Decretals" see Papal Decretals.