The contribution aims to explore the importance attributed to consent in canon law, as well as its implications in the recognition of ecclesiastical decisions, particularly in matrimonial matters, in relation to the application of the public policy limitation. Significant attention will be devoted to developments in Italian jurisprudence and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, with a particular focus on the evolution of the concept of "mitigated" public policy. The aim is to propose consent as a mechanism capable, on the one hand, of balancing personal freedom with the protection of the fundamental values of the legal order, and, on the other, of mitigating tensions between religious and civil norms.