Vatican City
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- elective ecclesiastical monarchy; self-defined as an "absolute monarchy"
- CONSTITUTION
- February 22, 2001 (Fundamental Law of the Vatican City State, main regulatory act of Vatican civil entities); in June 2018, Pope Francis approved the first draft of the Council of Cardinals for the new apostolic constitution, Predicato Evangelium (Preaching the Gospel); it came into effect on June 5, 2022, replacing Pastor Bonus, the previous governing document of the Roman Curia
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- religious legal system based on canon law (religious); it has not submitted to the jurisdiction of the ICJ
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- unicameral, Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Court or Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura (composed of the cardinal prefect, who serves as the ex officio president of the tribunal, and 2 other cardinals from the Prefectural Signatura); Court of Appeal of the Vatican City; Tribunal of the Vatican City
RELIGIONS
Roman Catholic
From the country
- APRIL 19, 2005Vatican CityDEATH PENALTY
VATICAN CITY. ANTI-DEATH PENALTY COURSE LIKELY TO PERSIST WITH NEW POPE
Catholic leaders and scholars said that they expected new Pope Benedict XVI to continue his predecessor's strong opposition to the death penalty.
- JANUARY 1, 2005Vatican CityDEATH PENALTY
The Vatican formally abolished the death penalty from its constitution in 2001.
The Vatican formally abolished the death penalty from its constitution in 2001.
- OCTOBER 25, 2004Vatican CityDEATH PENALTY
The Roman Catholic Church has published its long-awaited...
The Roman Catholic Church has published its long-awaited Compendium of the Social Doctrine
- SEPTEMBER 10, 2004Vatican CityDEATH PENALTY
Since St
Since St
- APRIL 19, 2004Vatican CityDEATH PENALTY
Pope John Paul II said that terrorism could not be...
Pope John Paul II said that terrorism could not be combated with the death penalty but, on the contrary, by the promotion of respect for the dignity of the human person
- APRIL 8, 2004Vatican CityDEATH PENALTY
The Vatican formally abolished the death penalty from its constitution in 2001.
The Vatican formally abolished the death penalty from its constitution in 2001.
- DECEMBER 16, 2003Vatican CityDEATH PENALTY
Renato Cardinal Martino, head of the Pontifical Council...
Renato Cardinal Martino, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said Saddam Hussein should face trial for his crimes but stressed the Vatican's opposition to the death penalty and criticized the US military for portraying him ``like a cow''
- APRIL 26, 2003Vatican CityDEATH PENALTY
The Pope expressed to Fidel Castro his "deep pain"...
The Pope expressed to Fidel Castro his "deep pain" and "deep sorrow" for the execution of the three hijackers of a Cuban ferry
- JANUARY 1, 2003Vatican CityDEATH PENALTY
The Vatican formally abolished the death penalty from...
The Vatican formally abolished the death penalty from its constitution in 2001
- JANUARY 1, 2003Vatican CityDEATH PENALTY
Vatican use of the death penalty persisted into the...
Vatican use of the death penalty persisted into the 19th century, with hangings under Pope Pius IX, but no execution was carried out since the establishment of the modern state in 1929
- JANUARY 1, 2003Vatican CityDEATH PENALTY
The revised Vatican constitution that took effect on...
The revised Vatican constitution that took effect on February 22, 2001 removed the death penalty from the text of the Fundamental Law, equivalent to a constitution, which dates back to the 1929 creation of the modern Vatican city-state
- JULY 26, 2002Vatican CityDEATH PENALTY
A Vatican representative delivered a papal letter to...
A Vatican representative delivered a papal letter to Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo asking him to declare a moratorium on the death penalty for the rest of his presidency