From the Church Law Society
New Leadership of the
Brno Chapter of the Church Law
Society Appointed
On 18 September 2010 the working committee of the Church
Law Society accepted the resignation of JUDr. Michal Lamparter, Ph.D.,
the chairman of the Brno chapter
of the Church
Law Society. The committee thanked Dr. Lamparter for his work in the leadership
of the Brno chapter since its
establishment on 20 September 1995, and especially for his involvement in the meetings and conferences that he organized.
On the
same day the committee appointed
JUDr. Kateřina Šimáčková, Ph.D., chairman of the Brno chapter,
and Mgr. Petr Jäger, vice-chairman
of the chapter.
The 20th Anniversary of the Reintroduction
of Church Law Courses at
the Law School
of Charles University
7 October
2010 marked the 20th anniversary of the fi rst
lecture on church law at the
Law School of Charles University after the 40-year period of forcible interruption by the communist regime.
JUDr. Jiří Rajmund Tretera was appointed
on 15 September 1990 to teach
church law and has been teaching church
law at the
School ever since. He was appointed
associate professor in 1993
and in 2006 became full professor
of legal history. Since the 1990s he has taught fi ve courses in the areas of
church law and state law on churches
and religious societies.
The Church Law
Society celebrated its 20th
anniversary during the 62nd discussion evening organized by the Prague chapter at the Law
School of Charles University
on 29 November 2010. During
the evening JUDr. Záboj
Horák, Ph.D., the vice-chairman
of the Society, thanked Professor Tretera on behalf of his students, and on behalf of the
Society presented him with a silver medal
and commemorative certifi cate.
The 62nd Lecture of the Lecture
Series
The Effects of
Law on Society and the Church
The 62nd Lecture of the Lecture
Series The Effects of Law
on Society and the Church took place in room 220 of the Law
School of Charles
University in Prague on 29 November 2010 at 5 pm. ICLic.
Vojtěch Kunčar, a judge of the Metropolitan Church Court in Prague, discussed Mental Immaturity as a Ground for Incapacity to Enter into Marriage and Its Application in Canon Court Proceedings; a lively discussion followed his presentation.
Congratulations to the Members
of the Church
Law Society
JUDr. Stanislav
Přibyl, Ph.D., ICD, was appointed
an associate professor at the
Law School of Trnava University in Trnava, Slovakia, following his successful defense of his work Tschechisches
Staatskirchenrecht nach 1989 (Czech Law on Churches after 1989), which was published by L. Marek Publishing House in Brno in 2010.
In 2010 the fi rst
complete Czech edition of the law
of concordats was published; it was authored
by doc. dr. Damián Němec and is entitled
Holy See Concordats with Postcommunist Countries
(1990–2008). The book was published by the Institute for State-Church Relationships in
Bratislava.
Commentary on the Law
on Churches and Religious Societies by Mgr.
Jakub Kříž was published in
2010. A presentation of the book took
place at the CEVRO Institute
at Jungmann Street 17 in Prague 1 on 21 December 2010. Among the speakers were
Professor JUDr. Helena Válková, on behalf of C.H. Beck Publishing House; Mons. Václav
Malý, on behalf of Prague Archbishop Mons. Dominik Duka; Mgr. Joel Ruml, Synodal Senior of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethern; JUDr. Tomáš Kraus, secretary
of the Federation
of Jewish Communities in the Czech
Republic; Professor JUDr. Jiří Rajmund Tretera; Professor JUDr. Antonín Ignác
Hrdina, DrSc., ICD; and Professor JUDr. Dušan Hendrych,
CSc. The presentation was moderated by JUDr. PhDr. Petr
Kolář, Ph.D.
Obituaries
It is with
a great sorrow that we announce
that R. D. doc. PhDr. Ing. Miloš Raban,
Th.D., a director of the International Center for Spiritual Rehabilitation
at Hejnice, a secretary of the Assembly
of the Czech Catholic Church, a senior lecturer of the
Technical University at
Liberec, and a member of our Society, died on 7 January 2011.
It is with
a great sorrow that we announce
that Ing. Jana Mindlová,
CSc., a founder member of our Society, fi rst editor of
the Church Law Review, a longtime
deputy of a chairman, and in contemporary a member of the
executive board, died on 17 January 2011. We remember her effective help and advices during all the time
of our Society. She helped persistently
for the foundation
“Good Work of the Sisters
of Charity of St. Charles Borromeus” and the Czech
Christian Academy.
Requiescant
in pace!
Brief
News
Omnium in mentem Enters into
Effect
As reported
in the Bulletin of the Church Law
Society in January 2010, the
motu proprio Omnium in mentem
by Benedict XVI dated
26 October 2009 was presented on 15 December 2009. The motu proprio amends the Code
of Canon Law in two respects. At the time the
Bulletin was published there was no information
available about the date of
promulgation or the effective date;
we promised to report more details as soon as they became available.
The motu proprio was promulgated by publication in the AAS on 8 January 2010 and the amendments that it introduced became
effective three months after publication
– on 9 April 2010.
In the
area of family law the motu proprio
means that as of 9 April 2010 a Catholic who by formal act leaves
the Catholic Church will continue
to have an obligation to marry in the canon form.
The prior law continues to apply to marriages celebrated between 27 November 1983 and 8 April 2010. Details of the amendment
may be found
in the overview Amended Canons of the Code
of Canon Law prepared by Docent dr. Damián Němec, OP, of Palacký University in Olomouc, which
can be found
in the Documents in this issue of
the Church Law Review.
The Tribunal of the Roman Catholic
Archdiocese in Prague for Preparations of the Petrinum is
Established
According to a report published in Acts of the
Prague Archdiocese No. 10/2010, Prague Archbishop Mons. Dominik Duka issued a Decree
on 15 September 2010 in which
he appointed for a three-year term a tribunal to investigate requests for Papal dispensation to annul marriages in favor of the
faith in cases where the Prague Roman Catholic Archdiocese has jurisdiction.
European Consortium for Church and State Research, Trier 2010
The XXII annual congress took place on 11–14 November 2010 in Trier, Germany; the topic
was Religion in Public Education.
The congress was attended by 35 representatives from 23 European Union countries.
A reporter
from each country submitted a country report several
months before the congress took
place; Professor Jiří Rajmund Tretera
and JUDr. Záboj Horák submitted the
report and contributed to the
discussion for the Czech Republic. The congress was opened
by the host, Professor
Gerhard Robbers of the University of Trier; the keynote
speech was presented by Professor Norman Doe, President of the Consortium and Director of the
Centre for Law and Religion
at the Law
School of the University of Cardiff. Three discussion sessions took place on Friday, 12 November 2010, and Saturday, 13 November 2010. The fi rst session, entitled General Aspects of Religion and Education in the Secular State,
was introduced by Professor José de Sousa e Brito from Lisbon;
Professor Balázs Schanda from Budapest
led the discussion. The second session, entitled Opting Out in Religion
and Education, was introduced by Professor Norman Doe from Cardiff;
Professor Marco Ventura from
Sienna led the discussion. The third session, Religious
Dress and Symbols, was introduced by Dr. David McClean from Sheffi
eld; Professor Lisbet Christoffersen from Copenhagen led the discussion.
The general assembly
elected Professor Matti Kotiranta of the University of Eastern Finland
as president of the Consortium for the upcoming year.
The next congress will take
place in Oxford on 29 September 2011; in 2012 the congress will
be in Copenhagen, and in November 2014 in Innsbruck. Publication
of all country reports and
other contributions was discussed.