Court of Faculties hearing in Cardiff

Last week, Cardiff University announced that its Law School had hosted a hearing of the Church of England’s Court of Faculties of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Court is an ancient jurisdiction which historically sat at Doctors Commons until it was disbanded in the 19th century[1] and since 1920 has been at the Faculty Office in Westminster. It is believed that this is the first sitting of the Court outside London and certainly the first ever in Wales. This is one of the little-visited nooks and corners of ecclesiastical law, particularly so in relation to the appointment and regulation of Notaries. On this, the Faculty Office stresses: “a Notary is a secular lawyer and is not otherwise associated with the Archbishop or the Church of England”[2]. In this post we explore its origins and present-day functions[3].

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