vatican-assassins-by-eric-jon-phelps

Chapter 19The life and activities of the Order are regulated by the ConstitutionalCharter approved by the Holy See, and the Code. The Code de Rohan,promulgated by the Grand Master Fra Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc in theeighteenth century, retains its validity as a supplementary source of law,provided its provisions are applicable and not contrary to the other two sourcesof law. Juridical questions and problems of interest and importance for theOrder are dealt with by the Consultative Juridical Council, appointed by theGrand Master with the consent of the Sovereign Council.To deal with cases outside the competence of Canon Law andecclesiastical Courts, the Order has its own Court of Law of First Instance andCourts of Appeal with the Presidents, Judges, Promoters of Justice, andAuxiliaries appointed by the Grand Master with the deliberative vote of theSovereign Council. Appeals against the sentences of the Order’s Courts may belodged with the Court of Cassation of the Vatican State, which, in such cases,acting by proxy on behalf of the Order, may exercise the functions of SupremeCourt.A Board of Auditors, elected by the General Chapter, controls the incomeand the expenditures of the Order.Under the provisions of International Law, the Order maintainsdiplomatic relations, through accredited representatives, with the Holy See, onwhich, in its double nature, it depends as a religious Order, but of which, as asovereign Order of Knighthood, it is independent, and through the exchange ofsuch diplomatic representatives, with six European countries: Austria, Italy,Malta, Portugal, San Marino, Spain; with nineteen South American States:Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador,Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Venezuela; in Asia with the Philippines,Thailand, Lebanon; in Africa with Benin, Burkina, Faso Cameroun, CentralAfrica Republic, Comores, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, the Ivory Coast,Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco; Niger, Senegal, Somalia, Togo,Tchad and Zaire. Moreover, it maintains Delegations in Belgium, France,Germany, Monaco and Switzerland, as well as at the Council of Europe, theUNESCO, the FAO and several International Organizations in Geneva.[Emphasis added]His Most Eminent Highness the Prince and Grand Master of the Orderrules with the assistance of the Sovereign Council aworld-wide andThe Jesuits – 1801 - 1814