Pope Francis has approved a new constitution for the Vatican State. The constitution of the smallest country in the world, published on Saturday, defines its most important institutions and rules in 24 articles, as reported by Kathpress.
The “Legge Fondamentale” of the State of the Vatican was last revised in 2000. The first and original version dates from 1929.
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For the first time, the new Basic Law clarifies the Vatican’s small territorial state’s service role to the international subject of international law, the Holy See. The roles of the Holy See (with the Vatican Curia as its organ) and the Vatican State (with the “Governorate” as the state government) are clearly separated and codified in the way they have been used for decades.
The Pope remains the sole holder of legislative, judicial and executive powers in Vatican City. He delegates his authority to various institutions. A major innovation is the composition of the main “Pontifical Commission for the State of the Vatican”.
Lay people can also belong to the Pontifical Commission
Until now it was composed exclusively of cardinals, but in the future lay people may also belong to it. The Pope appoints its members for a period of five years. The commission interprets the laws of the state, its chairman is also a kind of head of government and heads the so-called governorship. As before, the judges of the Vatican state are subject to its laws; the Pope’s right to pardon the condemned remains intact.
transparent state budget
What is new, however, is that the State Budget must be balanced and transparent. A three-man control panel created by the Pope for the first time verifies it. According to the will of the Pope, the new fundamental law for the State of the Vatican will come into force on June 7th.