Discreción de juicio y libertad interna a propósito de la sentencia rotal «coram» Salvatori, de 15 de marzo de 2023

The author reflects in general terms on two circumstances relating to the case at hand: online infatuation and intense courtship; before analyzing the scope of the ‘American’ way of acting in the court of first instance, which has been criticized on several occasions in Rota judgements, due to the lack of evidence – in particular, expert evidence – which such a case requires. The central section of the paper comprises a theoretical and practical study of lack of internal freedom as a serious defect in discretion of judgment, based on Rota jurisprudence; and rules out the conclusion that it constitutes an autonomous cause of nullity, a position that lacks legal grounding and lends itself to irregularities and abuse. The author praises the sentence for its commitment to the truth and corroborates its decision regarding validity given the insufficiency of the evidence presented, including the expertise requested ex officio by the Roman Rota.