INTIMATION. — This term designates the act by which a summons to appear in court is notified. It is in penal matters that this term finds its full application, although it is not found in the Code of Canon Law in its original form, but rather in a derived form; its origin goes back to Roman sources (cf. Cod. Iust., 9, 40, 1).
In the present definition, only the term "summons" has been used because this is the most common case, but it is not excluded that intimation may also be used to notify other judicial acts. The person designated by the law to execute these legal precepts is the usher (can. 1591). Only for the summons are strict rules for intimation laid down, which are validated by the appearance of the summoned party (can. 1715–22). The Code of Canon Law also uses this term to indicate the act by which an election is notified to an elector by a collegial moral person (can. 175). A. Blat, Commentarium textus codicis iuris canonici, I, Rome 1921, p. 146) asserts that this prescription does not apply to religious when it concerns ecclesiastical offices within their Order, and he supports this assertion with a passage from Boniface VIII (c. 27, De electione, I, 6 in 6°); this opinion cannot be accepted, since the fragment only refers to the consent of the Superior, which is required to accept offices outside the Order or the religious house. Moreover, intimation is also required for the deprivation of an ecclesiastical office (can. 192 § 3). Van Hove (De privilegiis et de dispensationibus, Malines 1939, p. 52) uses this term to designate the act by which a privilege is notified, although he does not admit that the intimation of the privilege is required for its efficacy, as some authors maintain; he also uses this term for the notification of the revocation of a privilege (op. cit., p. 211) and admits the necessity of the intimation of revocation for dispensation: it can be carried out by letter, through third parties, or verbally.
A special mention is deserved by the Intimatio which the Prefect of Papal Ceremonies customarily sends, «de mandato Sanctissimi D. N. Papae», to cardinals and to all prelates who have the privilege of attending the sacred functions of the Papal Chapel. In it, besides the time and place, the proper vestments for each function are also determined. Such intimation is sent not only for liturgical solemnities, but also for consistories and other special gatherings. During a sede vacante, the intimation is given by order of the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church or of the Dean of the Sacred College, according to their respective competencies. Enrico Dante
INTIMATION: see VIOLENCE.