Abstract
In the article the autors deal with the concept of legal force as an instrument of the legal certainty of the parties to the proceedings (here in particular, the judicial proceeding) in applacable canon law, supplemented by an outline of its development from the timeof Roman procedural law to its reception. Contrary to secular law, however, in canonlaw, the judgement of the church tribunals in status matters (including marriages, which form the overwhelming majority of such cases) never come into force, because they are usually, linked to sacraments; here, therefore, the principle of material truth is preferentially applied against the principle of legal certainty.
Similartly, in canon law, individual administrative acts do not come into force, as (in contrast to secular law), in most cases, they are directed not towards otherwise unsubordinated subjects, but towards those who are administratively subordinate to the originators of these legal acts. Thus, legal force is limited to (fortunately) not too frequent judgements in criminal matters in canon law.