section_path: Governance/Government and justice
section_name: Government and justice
paragraph_text: Government and justice
  
  Legislative functions are administered by the pope, but are also delegated to the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, led by the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. Its members are cardinals appointed by the Pope for terms of five years. Acts of the commission must be approved by the Pope, through the Holy See's Secretariat of State, and must be published in a special appendix of the Acta Apostolicae Sedis. Most of the content of this appendix consists of routine executive decrees, such as approval for a new set of postage stamps.
  
  Executive authority is delegated to the president of the Governorate of Vatican City, who is also the president of the Pontificial Commission. In addition, the Governorate include two immediate collaborators of the president: the general secretary and the deputy general secretary, members of the General Secretariat, each appointed by the pope for five-year terms. Important actions of the Governorate must be confirmed by the Pontifical Commission and by the Pope through the Secretariat of State.
  
  Both the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and the president of the Governorate of Vatican City can be assisted by the Councilors of Vatican City State in drafting legislation and other important issues. The president of the Governorate can convoke the members of the Council of Directors, together with external experts and people. The Governorate oversees the central governmental functions through several departments and offices. The directors and officials of these offices are appointed by the Pope for five-year terms.
  
  The Governorate is organized into central offices, one for law and another for personnel matters, and directorates with roles in the following matters:
  
  There are subsidiary bodies for monetary, disciplinary, personnel and personnel selection matters.
  
  In the pope's name, judiciary functions (Vatican judiciary) are exercised by four bodies: a Supreme Court, a Court of Appeal, a Tribunal and a Sole Judge, whose roles are established by the Vatican codes of criminal and civil procedure, and the 2013 " Motu Proprio On the Jurisdiction of Judicial Authorities of Vatican City State in Criminal Matters". At the Vatican's request, sentences imposed can be served in Italy (see the section on crime, below).
  
  Due to obvious territorial constraints, many headquarters and offices of the Holy See are located on Italian territory. They are granted the same immunity as diplomatic missions thanks to the Lateran Treaty and are commonly defined as " extraterritorial areas".