What are the canonical grounds the tribunal examines when declaring a marriage null?

1. What the tribunal is trying to decide: validity at inception

The tribunal’s task is not to judge the goodness of a relationship or to “undo” a marriage that once existed socially, but to determine whether a true canonical marriage came into being at the moment of the vows; canon law presumes validity until proven otherwise, and a declaration of nullity means the union was invalid ab initio, not that the lived relationship didn’t matter ^{[4] [5]}.

2. The three broad canonical fault-lines tribunals examine

Church teaching and tribunal practice commonly sort grounds into three areas: lack of capacity (impediments), lack of valid consent (defects in the will or knowledge), and lack of canonical form — each of which, if proven to the tribunal’s satisfaction, can render the marriage null ^{[2] [6] [1]}.

3. Defects of consent: simulation, incapacity, deceit, and coercion

A tribunal will probe whether one party inwardly withheld the essential intentions of marriage (total or partial simulation), whether psychical disorders or immaturity deprived a party of sufficient discretionary judgment to consent, whether consent was obtained by deceit about a quality that undermines conjugal life, or whether force or grave fear made the choice not free — all recognized canonical causes of nullity ^{[7] [3] [2]}.

4. Defects of capacity and canonical impediments

Capacity problems include statutory impediments (consanguinity, affinity, prior bond, disparity of worship without dispensation) and personal incapacity (age, grave psychological disorder, habitual addiction) that disqualify a person from contracting a valid marriage; some impediments apply specifically when a Catholic is involved and may have been cured only by a dispensation that, if missing, makes form or validity defective ^{[8] [9] [10]}.

5. Defect of form: why weddings outside prescribed rites matter

For baptized Catholics canonical form — exchange of consent before a properly authorized minister and two witnesses or a dispensation — is itself an essential element; failures of form (marriage before a civil official or non‑authorized minister without dispensation) are among the most common grounds tribunals cite when declaring a marriage null ^{[11] [8] [1]}.

6. How tribunals proof and procedure work: burden, evidence, and rights

Because canon law presumes marriages valid, the petitioner bears the burden of proof and must produce testimony, documents, and witnesses sufficient to obtain moral certitude; the respondent has the right to know the grounds alleged and to present a defense or advocate, and tribunals apply jurisprudence and canonical norms in weighing evidence ^{[12] [13] [4]}.

7. Consequences, limits, and contested perceptions

A declaration frees the parties to marry in the Church unless the decision is appealed or conditions are imposed, and canon law explicitly protects the legitimacy of children born in putative or valid marriages ^{[5] [4]}; meanwhile, popes and synods have debated perceived excesses or ambiguities in grounds like “immaturity,” prompting procedural reforms intended to balance pastoral sensitivity with doctrinal seriousness ^{[4] [13]}.

8. Practical takeaways and where ambiguity remains

Practically, tribunals look for an absence at the wedding of something essential — the right internal intention, the psychological capacity to consent, a dispensation or canonical form, or the absence of an impediment — but much depends on fact-finding, expert testimony, and evolving jurisprudence, and reporting or pastoral materials emphasize both the technical legal standard and the Church’s pastoral goal of justice for those harmed by invalid unions ^{[2] [14] [7]}.