Canon 1195

1. The joinder of issues (litis contestatio) occurs when the

object of the controversy based on the petitions and responses of

the parties are specified by the decree of the judge. 2. The

petitions and responses of the parties, besides those in the

libellus introducing the suit, can be expressed either in response to the citation or in a declaration made orally before the

judge; in more difficult cases, however, the parties are to be

called together by the judge to specify the question or questions

to be answered in the sentence. 3. The decree of the judge is

to be made known to the parties; unless they have already reached

an agreement, they can within ten days make recourse to that

judge that it be changed; however, the issue is to be resolved

most expeditiously by a decree of that judge.