What happens if you receive a negative decision?

Applications are screened carefully before acceptance. In some cases, a negative decision is the only conclusion that the review judge can make. In the event of a negative decision, it may be hard to understand how the Church could come to such a conclusion given the fact that a person wants to validate a current civil union in the "eyes of the Church," or marry a Catholic in the Catholic Church. Tribunal decisions are not granted out of favor or pity, but for reasons of fact. Sometimes the only conclusion that the review judge can make is that the marriage bond cannot be proven to be null.

A negative decision in a case can be appealed by either of the spouses. An appeal of a negative decision needs to be explicitly requested.