La Presunzione Di Validità dell’atto Giuridico nel Diritto Canonico by Antonio S. Sánchez-Gil (review)

and the seculars as the context in which the new ecclesiological paradigm emerged, he does not explore in depth the social, political, and economic environments that allowed the emergence of this new paradigm in the twelfth century and its displacement in the twentieth. Nor does he do more than touch briefly on the place and role of lay people in the retrieved and renewed local church he envisages, even though it has been the desire to empower lay people as much as disagreement over the relation between bishops and Roman Pontiff that has blocked the reception of the council’s attempt to transcend the distinction between orders and jurisdiction. Nevertheless, Villemin has provided the raw material for others to grapple intelligently with these issues. Indeed, without careful study of Villemin’s magnificent contribution, those who attempt to grapple with these issues will be groping in the dark. John P. Beal School of Canon Law The Catholic University of America Washington, DC 20064 LA PRESUNZIONE DI VALIDITÀ DELL’ATTO GIURIDICO NEL DIRITTO CANONICO by Antonio S. Sánchez-Gil. Milan: Giuffrè Editore, 2006. Pp. X–275. 29,00. The present work explores the presumption of the validity of juridic acts (c.124, §2). Among the canons on juridic acts, the author considers this paragraph to be the most neglected by scholars, even while being the most novel. In the first chapter, where he marvelously compiles the pertinent Roman and German sources, the author thoroughly examines the notion of a juridical presumption, which he defines as a judgment of qualified probability that relaxes the obligation to supply proof of a given fact. He demonstrates that presumptions are among the general norms of law, despite the fact that they are treated in Book VII of the Latin Code. He also explores the question of whether presumptions iuris et de iure are present in the ius vigens, the criteria for identifying presumptions iuris and hominis , and the effects of presumptions. In the second chapter, he explains the axiom standum est pro valore actus, nisi contrarium probetur, exceedingly relevant to this study. After illustrating how this rule has been applied by moralists and jurists alike, book reviews 311 312 the jurist he embarks on an elaborate and fascinating scholarly narrative regarding the reception of this principle in the 1983 code. This includes an examination of the fontes for canon 124, §1, pre-1983 code presumptions in favor of the validity of acts, and the iter of canon 124 in the process of revising the 1917 code. In the final chapter, the author identifies the three basic aspects of the presumption of the validity of juridic acts: its foundation (i.e., the rightly placed external elements), its object (i.e., the validity of the act), and a provision of the law establishing a “logical connection” between the two. He explicates these terms, making particular application to marriage consent and administrative acts. He also exegetes the terminology of canon 124, §2 and furnishes practical guidance for evaluating the validity of juridic acts. In so theoretical a work as this, the reader would have benefitted from the inclusion of more examples of the principles discussed, especially in some of the more abstract sections (e.g., chapter 1, section 4). When the author does use illustrations, he at times (somewhat understandably) over-utilizes marriage examples.A bit more imagination would have better demonstrated the significance of these principles in the whole canonical system. In chapter three, where he uses a variety of examples, he refers to acts (e.g., sacred ordination, and some of the examples found in note 151) which are arguably not juridic acts, either because they lack a human actor, they are operations of the law itself, they do not have clear juridic effects, or some other element is missing. This study will be of immense aid for scholars of both general norms and procedural law. To the extent that practitioners are called upon to analyze the validity of juridic acts, they also will find this study to be valuable . Since presumptions, juridic acts and the question of validity are all aspects that are integral to the entire canonical system, all canonists would highly benefit from...