Pope signs New Fundamental Law of Vatican City State
Pope Leo XIV promulgated a new Fundamental Law of Vatican City State on 31 July, replacing the 2023 text. The law consolidates previous amendments, notably the Motu Proprio of 19 November 2025 that removed the restriction that only cardinals could serve as President of the Pontifical Commission. It clarifies the roles of the Pontifical Commission, Governorate, President, and Secretary General, and confirms the judicial framework. The legislation aims to give the State a “constitutional identity” and reflects recent governance reforms.
about 2 months ago
Pope Leo XIV signed a revised Fundamental Law for Vatican City State on 31 July 2026, replacing the 2023 version to reflect recent governance reforms and legislative updates. 1
The preamble states the law is intended “to take account of new requirements of governance and of several important legislative changes introduced in recent years.” It serves as the constitutional foundation for the State’s powers and the autonomy of the Vatican legal order. 1
The 2025 Motu Proprio had already removed the restriction that only cardinals could be President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. The new law incorporates that amendment, allowing the President to be a cardinal or another appointed member. Sister Raffaella Petrini, who also heads the Governorate, now holds the presidency. Article 8 now reads that the Commission is composed of “Cardinals and other Members, including the President, appointed by the Supreme Pontiff for a five‑year term.” 1
The law reaffirms the Governorate’s role in executing State functions and clarifies the responsibilities of the President and the Secretary General, emphasizing their collaborative relationship. Regarding the judiciary, Article 22, paragraph 1, restates that the law provides the legal framework for the Vatican’s judicial bodies, ensuring proper administration of justice after recent reforms. 1
The document stresses that the Fundamental Law gives Vatican City State its “constitutional identity” and outlines the Governorate’s mission to serve the Successor of Peter directly. It also reiterates that governing bodies and officials act “in positions of responsibility and animated by a true ecclesial spirit,” exercising powers over the territory defined by the Lateran Treaty and related international guarantees. 1*
Clarify Vatican governance under the new Fundamental Law
The “Fundamental Law” of Vatican City State is meant to clarify, at the highest level, how the state is governed and how its legal acts are made and take effect. In what follows, the clarification is necessarily limited: the text of the new Fundamental Law itself is not included in the sources available here. What can be clarified reliably is how Vatican governance is operating “under” the Fundamental-Law framework through (a) rules about publication/entry into force of norms and (b) examples of executive, security, financial, and institutional competences implemented by subsequent Vatican legislation.
Vatican City State governance is structured around the Pope’s supreme authority, exercised through laws and the establishment of governing bodies that administer the territory and state functions. You can see this “governed by norms” approach in the way regulatory measures are promulgated and made effective, and in the way specialized authorities (e.g., financial supervision) are established by papal acts (chirographs).
A concrete governance clarification comes from a decree addressing regulatory measures in Vatican City State:
Governance significance: under the Fundamental-Law regime (as implemented by later “sources of law” rules), timely effectiveness depends on a clear, public standard of promulgation—not merely on later compilation in the official printed supplements.
Vatican governance includes civil administration and internal security, with competences assigned by legislative decree. For example, a 2022 decree remaps parts of the security administration connected with the Gendarmerie:
And that same decree explains promulgation mechanics:
Governance significance: when the Fundamental Law defines the overall structure, subsequent legislation specifies who does what (e.g., integrated command roles, territorial/protective responsibilities) and ties that to formal promulgation.
A major area of Vatican governance is economic/financial compliance and oversight. Pope Leo XIV’s chirograph on ASIF (Supervisory and Financial Information Authority) describes the authority’s role in governance terms:
Governance significance: the “new Fundamental Law” (as a constitutional-level framework) is operationalized in specialized sectors by establishing authorities with clear mandates (here, ASIF) and with enforceable promulgation rules.
Another way to see Vatican governance “under” the constitutional framework is how papal chirographs reorganize competence between structures. For example, Pope Leo XIV dissolves a pontifical committee and assigns its matters to a dicastery:
Governance significance: competence within Vatican governance is adjustable by high-level papal acts that specify (i) dissolution/repeal, (ii) the recipient institution, and (iii) financial accountability steps.
Even without the text of the new Fundamental Law itself, the available Vatican sources show the governance framework being implemented through: (1) defined promulgation and immediate effectiveness rules, (2) legally assigned executive/security command competences, (3) specialized supervisory authorities for financial integrity (ASIF), and (4) papal acts reorganizing competences among Vatican institutions.
Without the Fundamental Law text, any article-by-article clarification of “what exactly it changed” cannot be given from these sources alone; the mapping above is limited to adjacent implementing legislation and institutional governance mechanisms.