# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2001_S265 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) STRUCTURE, PLANNING, AND ADMINISTRATION 265 were nominees to the respective commission in the most recent synodical election. b. Vacancies on a District Commission on Adjudication shall be filled by the District Board of Directors. Consideration should first be given to individuals who were nominees to the District Commission on Adjudication in the most recent District election. c. Any person filling a vacancy shall complete the unexpired term of the member of the commission whose vacancy is being filled but shall not participate in any case or proceeding in which the member was participating at the time the vacancy occurred. 8.25 Disqualification a. At the outset of any proceeding before a Commission on Ad- Judication or the Commission on Appeals, a member of the com- mission may be disqualified from acting in such proceeding if the member has a conflict of interest. Disqualification may be by the voluntary act of the member himself, by the respective Commis- sion on Adjudication, or by action of the Commission on Appeals (1) on its own initiative or (2) on the complaint of any party to the proceeding. b. In the event a member of the synodical Commission on Ad- judication or the Commission on Appeals is disqualified, and if, as a result of such disqualification, there are an insufficient number of individuals to form a case panel to hear and decide a case (Bylaw 8.61), the provision of Bylaw 8.19 a shall prevail for that case only. c. In the event a member of a District Commission on Adjudi- cation is disqualified, and if, as a result of such disqualification, there are an insufficient number of individuals to form a case panel to hear and decide a case (Bylaw 8.61), the provision of Bylaw 8.19 b shall prevail for that case only. C, Jurisdiction of Commissions on Adjudication and Appeal 8.31 Jurisdiction of District Commissions District Commissions on Adjudication shall have jurisdiction in the following situations: a. Procedural questions involved in excommunication cases. b. Cases under Art. XII of the Constitution. c. Cases in which a member of the Synod shall have been re- moved from the position that he holds in a congregation that is a member of the Synod. d. Cases in which a person, whether or not a member of the Synod, is removed from the position that he holds in a District of the Synod. e. Cases involving differences between congregations within the same District or between a congregation and its District. 8.33 Venue of District Commissions A District Commission on Adjudication shall handle matters in- volving parties all of which hold membership in the District or po- sitions in the District or in congregations in the District. If an indi- vidual who is a party to the case has changed his membership subsequent to the occurrence that gives rise to the controversy, the Commission on Adjudication for the District in which the occur- rence took place shall handle the case. 8.35 Jurisdiction of the Synodical Commission The synodical Commission on Adjudication shall have juris- diction in the following situations: a. All matters in which the Synod itself is a party. b. All matters in which a District of the Synod is a party except 1. Cases involving expulsion under Art. XIII of the Constitu- tion; 2. Cases in which a person, whether or not a member of the Synod, is removed from the position that he holds in that District of the Synod; 3. Cases involving that District and a congregation within that District. Each of these exceptions shall be handled by the Commission on Adjudication of the District in which the person or congrega- tion involved held synodical membership, or held a position. c. All matters in which an organization owned and controlled by the Synod other than a District is a party. d. All matters in which a person, whether or not a member of the Synod, holding a position in either the Synod or an organization owned and controlled by the Synod other than a District is a party except those to which Bylaws 8.31 a and 8.31 b are applicable. e. All matters involving members of the Synod who hold or held their synodical membership in different Districts at the time of the occurrence that gave rise to the controversy. 8.37 Jurisdiction or Venue of Commission Disputed Where jurisdiction or venue of a Commission on Adjudication is disputed, the Commission on Appeals shall make the decision on jurisdiction or venue. This decision shall be final and binding. Any party, or any Commission on Adjudication, may request a rul- ing from the Commission on Appeals. The Commission on Ap- peals may hold such hearings as it deems advisable prior to reach- ing its decision. 8.39 Jurisdiction of Commission on Appeals The Commission on Appeals shall handle only appeals of deci- sions of Commissions on Adjudication. 8.41 Suspension and Expulsion See Bylaw Sections 2.25—2.27 D. Rules of Procedure 8.51 Establishing and Amending Rules of Procedure Commissions on Adjudication and the Commission on Appeals shall be governed by and shall follow rules of procedure that shall be consistent with these bylaws and may from time to time be changed by the Commission on Appeals. The rules of procedure shall become effective immediately after the Commission on Ap- peals has transmitted its revisions to the Secretary of the Synod. The Secretary of the Synod shall distribute the revised rules of pro- cedure without delay to the President of the Synod, to all District Presidents, and to all Commissions on Adjudication. The fact of their availability should be published in an official periodical of the Synod. Any changes in the bylaws and/or rules of procedure shall not be effective as to actions then in progress unless all parties shall consent in writing to the application of the changes. In all events the rules of procedure shall be consistent with the following basic principles: a. A commission shall be governed in its acts, procedures, and judgments by the Holy Scriptures and Christian principles. b. All hearings before a commission shall be private. c. Except as the rules of procedure expressly allow, while any proceeding is pending before a commission, no party to a case, nor anyone on the party’s behalf, shall either directly or indirectly have any form of communication with any member of the commission concerning any matter involved in the proceeding. Similarly, ex- cept as the rules of procedure expressly allow, there shall be no communication with any member of the Commission on Appeals while there is pending before a Commission on Adjudication any matter that is appealable to the Commission on Appeals. d. Any party to a case, his adviser, the District President, or the synodical President, may request in writing from the chairman of a Commission on Adjudication or the Commission on Appeals in- formation relating to matters concerning procedures connected with the hearing. e. The rules of procedure shall permit one or more members of a commission to meet with the parties prior to a hearing of a case in order to determine (1) the issue(s) in the case and (2) the facts on which the parties agree. All parties shall be invited to be present or represented, 2001 Convention Workbook