Title V: Of Ordinary and Delegated Power

The power of jurisdiction or governance which, by divine institution, exists in the Church, is one power of the external forum and another of the internal forum, or of conscience, whether sacramental or extra-sacramental.

§ 1. Ordinary power of jurisdiction is that which is attached by the law itself to an office; delegated power, that which is committed to a person.

§ 2. Ordinary power can be either proper or vicarious.

§ 1. In law, by the name of Ordinary are understood, unless someone is expressly excepted, besides the Roman Pontiff, each for his own territory, the residential Bishop, the Abbot or Prelate nullius and their Vicar General, Administrator, Vicar and Prefect Apostolic, and likewise those who, when the aforesaid are lacking, meanwhile succeed in governance by prescription of law or by approved constitutions; for their own subjects, major Superiors in exempt clerical religions are also understood.

§ 2. By the name of local Ordinary, or Ordinaries of places, come all those listed, except religious Superiors.

§ 1. One who has ordinary power of jurisdiction can delegate it to another in whole or in part, unless something else is expressly provided by law.

§ 2. Even power of jurisdiction delegated by the Apostolic See can be subdelegated either for an act or even habitually, unless it was chosen for personal qualifications or subdelegation has been prohibited.

§ 3. Delegated power for the whole range of affairs, from one who below the Roman Pontiff has ordinary power, can be subdelegated in individual cases.

§ 4. In other cases, delegated power of jurisdiction can be subdelegated only by an expressly made concession; but delegated judges can subdelegate some non-jurisdictional matter even without express commission.

§ 5. No subdelegated power can be subdelegated again, unless this has been expressly granted.

§ 1. Ordinary power of jurisdiction and power delegated for the whole range of affairs is to be interpreted broadly; any other power, strictly. Nevertheless, to one to whom power has been delegated are also understood to have been granted those things without which that same power could not be exercised.

§ 2. Upon the one who asserts that he is delegated lies the burden of proving the delegation.

§ 1. Power of jurisdiction can be exercised directly only over subjects.

§ 2. Judicial power, whether ordinary or delegated, cannot be exercised for one's own advantage or outside the territory, without prejudice to the prescriptions of can. 401, Sec. 1, 881, Sec. 2, and 1637.

§ 3. Unless something else is established from the nature of things or from law, one can exercise voluntary, or non-judicial, power of jurisdiction even for one's own advantage, or while existing outside the territory, or over a subject absent from the territory.

§ 1. An act of the power of jurisdiction, whether ordinary or delegated, conferred for the external forum is valid also for the internal forum, but not conversely.

§ 2. Power conferred for the internal forum can also be exercised in the extra-sacramental internal forum, unless the sacramental forum is required.

§ 3. If the forum for which the power is given has not been expressed, the power is understood to have been granted for both forums, unless something else is established from the very nature of the matter.

§ 1. A delegate who exceeds the limits of his mandate either concerning things or concerning persons does nothing.

§ 2. Nevertheless a delegate is not understood to have exceeded these limits if he carries out the things for which he has been delegated in a manner other than pleased the delegating person, unless the manner itself was prescribed by the delegating person as a condition.

§ 1. The fact that someone approaches the Superior, passing over the inferior, does not thereby suspend the voluntary power of the inferior, whether this power was ordinary or delegated.

§ 2. Nevertheless, the inferior is not to involve himself in a matter brought to the Superior, except for a grave and urgent cause; and in this case he is immediately to warn the Superior about the matter.

§ 1. If several have obtained delegated jurisdiction for the same matter, and it is doubtful whether the delegation was made in solidum or collegially, it is presumed to have been made in solidum in a voluntary matter, collegially in a judicial matter.

§ 2. When several have been delegated in solidum, the one who first took up the matter excludes the others from the same matter, unless afterwards he is impeded or does not wish to proceed further in the matter.

§ 3. When several have been delegated collegially, all must proceed together for the validity of the acts in handling the matter, unless something else has been provided in the mandate.

When several have been delegated successively, the one must handle the matter whose mandate is earlier and was not expressly abrogated by a later rescript.

§ 1. Delegated power is extinguished when the mandate has been completed; when the time has elapsed or the number of cases for which it was granted has been exhausted; when the final cause of the delegation has ceased; by revocation of the delegating person directly communicated to the delegate, or by resignation of the delegate directly communicated to the delegating person and accepted by him; but not when the right of the delegating person is dissolved, except in the two cases mentioned in can. 61.

§ 2. But when power has been granted for the internal forum, an act placed through inadvertence after the time has elapsed or the number of cases has been exhausted is valid.

§ 3. When several have been delegated collegially, if one fails, the delegation of the others also expires, unless something else is established from the tenor of the delegation.

According to the norm of can. 183, Sec. 2, ordinary power is not extinguished when the right of the one granting the office to which it is attached is dissolved; but it ceases when the office is lost; it is suspended when a legitimate appeal has been interposed, unless perhaps the appeal is only in devolutive effect, without prejudice to the prescription of canons 2264 and 2284.

In common error or in positive and probable doubt, whether of law or of fact, the Church supplies jurisdiction for both the external and internal forum.

Power of order, whether attached to an office or committed to a person by a legitimate ecclesiastical Superior, cannot be entrusted to others, unless this has been expressly granted by law or by indult.