Just Process and the Procedural Ecosystem in the Thought of Joaquín Llobell

Abstract

This article examines the “fundamental” perspective underlying the proceduralist contributions of Joaquín Llobell. Its analysis concentrates on the pastoral nature, principles, and values of the just process in the canonical sphere, as well as the centrality of the search for truth. The demonstration of the “communionality” of the process is founded in the authentic juridicity of the canonical system and highlights the need for an effective protection of rights, illustrating the personal and redemptive value of judgment in connection with the goodness of human rationality. The question of truth underlines the objectivity of factual reality in accordance with a metaphysical or ontological approach. Moral certainty assumes, then, a content that is simultaneously subjective and objective, with respect to both the quaestio iuris and the quaestio facti. The “procedural ecosystem” makes reference to the “common denominator” of epistemology and deontology, shared with secular juridical science, with all of the characteristic elements and limitations that emerge in the canonical system. The most acutely perceived urgency remains the quality and formation of ecclesial jurists.