Obstacles for Marriage in Light of the Family and Canon Law

Republika Hrvatska sekularna je država u kojoj su sve vjerske zajednice jednake pred zakonom i odvojene od države, no između Katoličke crkve i države ipak postoji posebna povezanost koja se očituje i u današnjim vremenima. Ta povezanost dolazi do izražaja kod instituta braka te pretpostavaka potrebnih za njegovo sklapanje, odnosno bračnih smetnji koje sklapanje braka onemogućuju. Naime, Republika Hrvatska je sklapanjem Ugovora sa Svetom Stolicom ustupila Katoličkoj crkvi dio svojih ovlasti i odgovornosti za zakonito sklapanje braka. Radi se o sklapanju vjerskog braka s građanskim učincima, specifičnost kojeg je u tome što u jednoj ceremoniji nastaje kanonska ženidba i građanski brak. U radu smo nastojali prikazati u kakvom međusobnom odnosu stoje odredbe Obiteljskog zakona, kojima se uređuju pitanja bračnih smetnji i odredbe Zakonika kanonskog prava, kojima se uređuju zapreke za sklapanje vjerskog braka, koje su po svojem sadržaju slične spomenutim bračnim smetnjama obiteljskog prava. Pojedine su bračne smetnje suvremenoga obiteljskog prava, u nešto izmijenjenom obliku poznate u kanonskom pravu, pa i u rimskom pravu, kao jednom od najstarijih poznatih pravnih sustava. Poveznicu među trima navedenim pravnim sustavima vidimo u kršćanstvu koje je u jednom razdoblju bilo prevladavajuća religija u rimskoj državi. Proizlazi da postoji suodnos kanonskog prava i hrvatskoga obiteljskog prava, koji je vidljiv u segmentu koji uređuje sklapanje vjerskog braka s građanskim učincima.Republic of Croatia is a secular state in which all religious communities are equal in front of the law and separated from the state, although there is a special connection between the Catholic Church and the state that is evident even today. This connection is most evident when it comes to the institution of marriage and presuppositions that are needed in order to enter into marriage, i.e. obstacles for marriage that disqualify one from being able to enter into marriage. Namely, by signing contract with the Holy Sea, Republic of Croatia has given some of its authority and responsibilities concerning lawful formation of marriage to the Catholic Church. This, of course, concerns only religious marriages that have civil eff ects, and its specifi city is that both canonical and civil marriages are formed in one ceremony. In this article the author tried to show what the mutual relationship between articles of the Family Law is, which regulate those issues that have to do with obstacles for marriage, and the articles of the Code of Canon Law, which regulate impediments for entering into religious marriage that are in terms of their content, similar to obstacles for marriage defined in the family law. Some of the obstacles for marriage present in the contemporary family law are already, although in a slightly different form, present in the canon law and even in the Roman law, as one of the oldest known legal systems. The connection between these three legal systems is to be found in Christianity that was, during one period, the dominating religion in the Roman state. All of this points toward co-relationship between the canon law and the Croatian family law, which is evident in that part of both laws that regulate entering into religious marriage with civil effects