Within the framework of the Ecclesiastical Court’s 11th Annual Canon Law Conference convening at the Dead Sea, Jordan, on July 21-28, 2024, the ecclesiastical courts affiliated with the  Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, Amman, and Nazareth opened the sessions of the judges of Catholic ecclesiastical courts in the Arab countries.

The opening session was attended by Dean of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota Archbishop Alejandro Cedillo, a number of members of the Roman Court, in addition to bishops and judges of Catholic ecclesiastical courts in Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq,  as well as specialists in canon law and a number of parish priests.

The four-day course of judges includes ten sessions that address several topics such as the shortness of married life, implicit contracts, the right to self-defence and reverse conflict (obstructing the work of the court), the unity of ecclesiastical jurisprudence through the Apostolic Rota, justice, integrity, and the moral standards of the ecclesiastical judges.

It also includes three sessions with Dean of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, whereby the first one is for judges of the Coptic, Armenian and Syriac Church courts; the second one is for judges of the Chaldean, Maronite and Greek Melkite Church courts; while and the third one involves a general session to discuss matters related to the Middle East.

After the conclusion of the Ecclesiastical Court’s 11th Annual Canon Law Conference (July 21-24), the Canon Law Conference for lawyers will be opened (July 24-28). It will also include a workshop for psychologists and social workers (July 25-26), which is a new addition to the functions of this year's conference.