Annual Conference Judiciary Committee.--1. Each annual conference shall nominate and elect a Judiciary Committee whose purpose it shall be to review any appeal of rulings of law made by the bishop between annual conference sessions in the course of administering the life of the conference.
a) Nomination and Election.--1) Nominations for the Judiciary Committee shall be from the conference Committee on Nominations and from the floor of the annual conference. Not eligible for the Judiciary Committee are the conference chancellor, members of the Cabinet, conference staff, jurisdictional or central conference appellate committee, and Judicial Council. Eligible shall be full members of the conference, preferably retired and honorably located members, and lay members of the conference. Upon election, they shall all resign from any other annual conference board or agency to which they have belonged prior to election.
2) There shall be three elected, one of whom shall be lay, to the Judiciary Committee. In addition, two alternates, one lay and one clergy, shall also be elected.
3) Each of the five must be elected by a majority of the members of the annual conference present and voting.
4) The term of office shall be for the quadrennium, with election being at the annual conference immediately following General Conference and continuing until their successor(s) are elected.
2. Officers.--The committee shall select its convener, who shall have the authority to gather the other members, or if they are unavailable, alternates, so that at least three can meet as soon as possible. The convener shall report the committee's ruling in writing to the appellant and the bishop as soon as possible.
3. Time Frame.--The committee shall meet within a week of the appeal and must make its ruling no later than the second week unless the bishop and appellant agree to an extension.
4. Authority.--a) The committee shall seek to make the best interpretation possible of the part of the conference rules or of the Book of Discipline being appealed and may overturn, modify, or support the ruling of the bishop. The committee must respond to the issue of law raised by the appellant. While the task is legal, it shall be done in the spirit of collegiality and reconciliation.
b) This authority shall be valid on any written challenges of the bishop's interpretation of conference rules or of the Book of Discipline, including matters related to ¶ 2620 and following. In particular, appeals of fair process procedures may be made to this body.
5. Procedure.--If someone sees what seems to be a violation of conference rules, establishment of policies and procedures that are not the authority of the individual, board or agency, or violation of the Book of Discipline in the course of events in the life of the Church, she/he may raise a question of law in writing to the bishop. The bishop shall make a ruling of law in writing within a week of receiving the question of law. The questioner and bishop may agree to an extension.
1) A question of law shall ask for an interpretation of conference rules or of one or more paragraphs of the Book of Discipline pertinent to an immediate action pending or taken at any level in the conference. The question may not be hypothetical or frivolous.
2) The bishop may refer the question of law to a superintendent or conference chancellor or other she/he selects to handle the matter but shall take responsibility for the ruling.
3)(a) The ruling of the law shall respond to the specific question asked and shall provide direction for action or interpretation of meaning to be taken under conference rules or the appropriate disciplinary paragraph(s).
(b) To challenge the ruling of law, the questioner or any other interested person shall do so in writing, stating the grounds for the challenge. This shall be sent to the bishop and to the convener of the Judiciary Committee.
(c) The ruling of law of the bishop shall have the authority of law within the annual conference until it has been modified or overturned by the Judiciary Committee or, upon further appeal, by the annual conference for conference rules or by the Judicial Council for the Discipline.
(d) The members of the Judiciary Committee must be open to presentations in session from anyone interested in the question of law, though it will be the responsibility of the bishop and the questioner to communicate with others about the challenge and its issues. The committee may hold a hearing with the interested parties, or it may handle contact with those interested in any way that facilitates gathering of all relevant data and resolution of the challenge.
e) The ruling of the Judiciary Committee shall become law for that conference unless it is overturned upon further appeal.
6. Appeal.--Should either the bishop or the questioner feel that the Judiciary Committee's ruling is not correct within the conference rules or the Book of Discipline, they may bring the matter before the annual conference for resolution of conference rules interpretation or for referral to the Judicial Council under ¶¶ 2613, 2614, or 2616.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
Petition Text: 22187-CO-749-D
1996 United Methodist General Conference