Promoter of Justice

A promoter of justice must be appointed in every diocese. The promoter intervenes in penal cases and in contentious cases when the law requires it, the nature of the matter clearly demands it, or the diocesan bishop judges that the public good can be endangered. In a judicial penal process, the promoter presents and advances the accusation after the ordinary has decreed that such a process is to begin.^[1]

The promoter is not the judge and does not decide guilt or penalty. Nor is the office simply private counsel for an accuser or injured person. Its controlling duty is the public good, which includes legality, truth, the right of defense, and a just outcome rather than conviction at any cost.^[2]

The diocesan bishop appoints the promoter, either for cases generally or for a particular case. The appointee may be a cleric or layperson, must possess an unimpaired reputation, a doctorate or licentiate in canon law, and proven prudence and zeal for justice. The same person may serve as defender of the bond in other matters, but never exercise both offices in the same case.

When the promoter's presence is required, failure to cite the promoter invalidates the acts unless the promoter actually took part or, after inspecting the acts, was able to fulfill the office before sentence. Once admitted, the promoter is heard where the parties are heard and can make requests having the same procedural force as a party's request where the law so provides. Special reserved-delict norms require a priest with an advanced degree in canon law for this function, unless the doctrinal dicastery grants a dispensation permitted by those norms.^[3][4]