The Notion of the Church sui iuris in Current Canon Law

This article is a further contribution to the clarification of the concept of the Church sui iuris. It provides a brief overview of its development from the MP Postquam apostolicis litteris (1952) to the valid Code of Canons of Oriental Churches (CCEO) of 1990 and provides an analysis of the canon 27 CCEO which defines the concept of Ecclesia sui iuris. The second part of the article offers an overview of the Eastern Catholic Churches, as contained in the latest edition of the Pontifical Yearbook Annuario Pontificio, and also briefly assesses the canonical status of the Apostolic Exarchate in the Czech Republic. The reality of the Eastern Catholic Churches is extremely diverse and still under development and consequently the application of canon 27 CCEO is not always entirely clear. All the Eastern Catholic Churches are, however, according to the Second Vatican Council, of equal dignity and enjoy the same rights (OE 3).