Vetitum

A vetitum (Latin for "prohibition") is a prohibition, in the form of a precept, imposed by an ecclesiastical authority on a particular individual. Most often in Roman Catholic canon law, the term is describes a prohibition against a particular behavior or action that is affixed to a party who has received remission of a penalty such as a declaration of nullity from a matrimonial tribunal of the Catholic Church. This prohibition or directive may involve one or both of the parties. A vetitum is imposed to delay the celebration of a future marriage until a given condition has been fulfilled or addressed. Thus, the pastoral purpose of a vetitum is to help an individual and/or a couple address the underlying problems that led to the breakdown of a former marriage union. At times a recommendation or a warning (a monitum) may also be made by the tribunal which processes a formal petition for nullity.