Decree (canon law)

A decree (Latin: decretum, from decerno, "I judge") is, in a general sense, an order or law made by a superior authority for the direction of others. In the usage of the canon law of the Catholic Church, it has various meanings. Any papal Bull, Brief, or Motu Proprio is a decree inasmuch as these documents are legislative acts of the Pope. In this sense the term is quite ancient. The Roman Congregations were formerly empowered to issue decrees in matters which come under their particular jurisdiction, but were forbidden from continuing to do so under Pope Benedict XV in 1917. Each ecclesiastical province, and also each diocese may issue decrees in their periodical synods within their sphere of authority.

Canon 29 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law offers a definition of general decrees:

General decrees, by which a competent legislator makes common provisions for a community capable of receiving a law, are true laws and are regulated by the provisions of the canons on laws.

The canon reproduces substantial elements (later deleted) of the original draft of what would become canon 7. It should be noted that this canon incorporates a definition which takes its inspiration from Thomas Aquinas' definition of human law found in his Treatise on Law.

The word is also used to denote certain specified collections of church law, e.g. Gratian's Decree (Decretum Gratiani). In respect of the general legislative acts of the pope there is never doubt as to the universal extent of the obligation; the same may be said of the decrees of a General Council, e.g. those of the First Vatican Council.

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