CITATION. — In canon law procedure, citation (c.), unlike what generally occurs in civil procedural systems (where often one party cites another), is an order issued by the judge. It is through the citation that the judge summons the parties to appear in court (vocatio in ius) so that they may assert their claims in a properly instituted lawsuit, with reference to what has been set forth in the libellus, which, in turn, is the act that properly introduces the case.
It should be noted, however, that citation is not necessary when the parties appear in person before the tribunal to litigate the matter.
Among the various types of citation, mention should be made, on the one hand, of written, oral, or real citations (the latter having the characteristics of a manus iniectio), and, on the other, of private or personal citations and edictal or public citations, which respectively occur depending on whether the citation is effected by directly summoning the person (through the court messenger and postal service or the person’s own messengers) or by affixing the citation to the doors of the tribunal and publishing it in the press (AAS for tribunals of the Holy See and diocesan bulletins for lower tribunals).
Citation is an act of jurisdiction in the strictest sense of the term (CIC, can. 1715 § 1), since it is an order of the judge, who issues it by means of a decree bearing his signature and the tribunal’s seal.
The nullity of a citation, due to the lack of essential elements (as set forth below), if not remedied by the personal appearance of the party (cf. ibid., cann. 1715, 1717, 1722), as well as the nullity, for irritability, of its notification, results in the nullity of the entire proceedings and the judgment, and constitutes a ground for a complaint of nullity (cf. ibid., cann. 1723, 1894 § 1; V. QUERELA).
In form, the citation is drawn up on a special form called a citation slip (scheda citatoria), which must contain the essential elements of the vocatio in ius (name of the judge, order to appear, name, surname, and domicile of the parties, place and time of appearance) and of the editio actionis (the claim and its legal basis), which are the two procedural functions of the citation.
The citation is formally brought to the parties’ attention through the act of notification, which is carried out by the court messenger (v.) in his official capacity. The manner of notification varies and ranges from delivery to the interested party in person, to delivery to a family member or household member, to the use of postal service and edict (cf. ibid., cann. 1717 ff.).
The notification report, which is dated and signed by the court messenger (ibid., can. 1723 § 1), must indicate the manner and time in which the notification was effected and is a public act that, as such, is presumed true until proven otherwise by a plea of falsehood (ibid., can. 1593).
Once notified, the citation, from a procedural standpoint, brings about full litispendence (v. LITE PENDENTE) and, in particular: it renders the substantive legal relationship contentious, makes the case the proper concern of the judge before whom the action is brought, confirms and consolidates the jurisdiction of the delegated judge, and produces the prohibition of so-called attentata (v. ATTENTATO).
In addition to these procedural effects, the citation also has the typical substantive effect of interrupting both extinctive and acquisitive prescription (cf. ibid., cann. 1508 and 1725 n. 4).