The governing system of the Vatican City State under the Fundamental Law of the Vatican City State of 2023
The governing system of the Vatican City State under the Fundamental Law of the Vatican City State of 2023

Summary/Abstract: On 7 June 2023 the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State promulgated by Pope Francis entered into force. This article aims at characterising the constitution of the Vatican City State with particular attention given to the amendments introduced in 2023. At the beginning of the article the reasons for the reform will be presented. For this purpose, the origins, the concept and the specificity of the Vatican City State as guarantor of the independence and sovereignty of the Holy See will be described. This will be followed by a characterisation of the governing system of the Vatican City State. This issue requires an in-depth analysis due to the fact that the Vatican City State, despite being an absolute monarchy in which the Sovereign enjoys full power, has specialised bodies equipped with legislative, executive and judicial functions, which they always exercise on behalf of the Pope. Pope Francis justified the necessity of the reform by the needs of our time. In this context, he recalled that the Vatican State was created in 1929 as an instrument to ensure the Holy See’s independence and guarantee its sovereignty also in the international arena. It must be pointed that the structure of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State has been changed, which can also include other members, thus also lay persons. The article will use the historical-legal and dogmatic-legal methods.

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