In law,motu proprio (Latin for 'on his own impulse') describes an official act taken without a formal request from anotherparty. Some jurisdictions use the termsua sponte for the same concept.
InCatholic canon law, it refers to a document issued by thepope on his own initiative and personally signed by him.[1] Such a document may be addressed to the whole church, to part of it, or to some individuals.[1] The first papalmotu proprio waspromulgated byPope Innocent VIII in 1484.[2] It continues to be a common form ofpapal rescript, especially when establishing institutions, making minor changes to law or procedure, and when granting favours to persons or institutions.
An important effect of issuing a document in this way is that a rescript containing the clausemotu proprio is valid and produces its effect even in cases where fraud would ordinarily have vitiated the document, since the pope does not rely on the reasons alleged when he grants a favour.[2] Withholding of the truth in what, according to canonical law, style and practice, must for validity be expressed, normally renders a rescript invalid, but not if the rescript is issuedmotu proprio.[3] Consequently, canonists traditionally called the clause the "mother of repose".[2] The designationmotu proprio indicates that the validity of the document is independent of the validity of whatever reasons may have been adduced in a request for its issuance.[2]
However, amotu proprio has no effect in so far as it harms the acquired right of another or is contrary to a law[4] or approved custom, unless it expressly states that it is derogating from these matters.[5]
Amotu proprio rescript begins by giving the reasons for issuing it, and then indicates the law or regulation made or the favour granted. It is less formal than a constitution and carries no papal seal. Its content may be instructional (e.g., on the use ofchant), administrative (e.g., concerning a church law or the establishment of a commission), or merely to confer a special favour.[6]
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More generically, this phrase (orproprio motu; Latin allowsfree word order) is used to indicate an act taken by a court without amotion from a party to the case. The term is used very rarely in legal opinions in the United States, wheresua sponte is preferred, butproprio motu is used in Canada.[7]Proprio motu is used to refer to a decision by the prosecutor of theInternational Criminal Court to initiate an investigation into a situation without a referral from theSecurity Council or a state party; this power is granted by article 15(1) of theRome Statute.European Court of Justice judgments use the phrase "of its own motion" and its equivalent in other communitylanguages.[8]
As it relates to a monarch, the termmotu proprio describes the condition of a royal decree being made expressly on the sovereign's initiative, a practice more usual in some nations than in others.
Relating toorders of chivalry, like theOrder of Malta, thegrand master according to the statutes can confer the ordermotu proprio, instead of in response to a nomination by a national delegation.
where the Crown attempts to tender a statement without first requesting a trial within the trial, the Court must order it proprio motu.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Motu Proprio".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
