This Journal deals with Marriage Law in the Catholic Church.  It is a series of decisions on marriage law (three here) from the Church’s highest court of appeal on marriage cases.  It’s easy to breeze through what CUA Press has to say about this journal, but the “mission” is important to the untrained eye of anyone not a degreed canonist or Tribunal staff member. 

About this Journal, CUA Press says:

The mission of the Decisions of the Roman Rota is to provide original, recent Latin sentences and decrees of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, together with English translations of them and an introductory essay for an English-speaking readership, especially canon lawyers and tribunal officials in the English-speaking world and to those interested in the jurisprudence of the Roman Catholic Church.

This description can set non-canonists adrift.  I highlighted the most important words.     Canon law tribunals are not like civil law courts that publish  decisions in all cases and at all levels. “Lower Court” canonical cases, that is First and Appeal Tribunal decisions, are not published. Original Rotal decisions, any of them, are not easy to access.  The Rota controls what is available, to whom and for what purpose.  Publishing cases that are ten and twenty years old is not unusual. Translating the decisions from the original Latin to English is difficult and the finished product must be approved by the Rota before it can be used for any purpose.  In the case of this Journal, the introductory essay alone is worth the price of the journal.  It is invaluable to canonists and to those with a healthy interest in marriage law in canon law.  This Journal is unique in its recent material, its translation to English, and to its commentary on the decisions. It is essential for an understanding of marriage law in the Catholic Church today.