LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1965, Page 132

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

132 RESOLUTIONS — COMMITTEE 5

nature of the case with the District Board of Appeals and
shall furnish copies thereof to the other party and to the
District President.

5.35 Original Cases in the Synod

a. If a member of the Synod is removed from his position
in a situation described in section 5.23 a, 1, he may appeal his
case to the Synod’s Board of Appeals by filing a written
statement of his case with the President of the Synod.

b. If differences arise between two Districts and the dif-
ferences cannot be settled by the respective District Presi-
dents, either District may submit the matter to the President
of the Synod, and if he is unable to settle the matter, he
shall refer the matter to the Synod’s Board of Appeals. If the
matter is not settled by the President of the Synod and
he fails to refer the matter to the Synod’s Board of Appeals,
either District may file a written statement of the nature
of the differences with the Synod’s Board of Appeals and
furnish a copy thereof to the other District and to the Presi-
dent of the Synod.

c. If differences arise between a congregation and a Dis-
trict other than the District of which the congregation is
a member and such differences cannot be settled by the
Presidents of the respective Districts or by the President of
the Synod, either the congregation or the District may sub-
mit such differences to the Synod’s Board of Appeals by fil-
ing a written statement of the nature of the case and furnish-
ing copies thereof to the other party and to the President of
the Synod.

d. If differences arise between congregations in different
Districts and the matter cannot be settled by direct negotia-
tion, either congregation may present the matter to the
President of its District, who shall notify the President of
the other District. The two Presidents shall attempt to settle
the matter, and if their efforts are unsuccessful, they shall
refer the case to the President of the Synod. If his efforts
are also unsuccessful, the President of the Synod or either
congregation may refer the matter to the Synod’s Board of
Appeals.

5.37 Appeal Cases in the Synod

Any party to a proceeding in a District Board of Appeals
who is adversely affected by the decision of the District
Board may file an appeal with the Synod’s Board of Appeals
by submitting a written statement of the reasons for his
unwillingness to accept the decision of the District Board of
Appeals. A copy of such statement shall be sent to the Presi-
dent of the Synod.

D. PROCEDURES BEFORE BOARDS OF APPEAL
5.41 Rules and Basic Principles

Procedures before a District or the Synod’s Board of
Appeals, both in original and in appeal cases, shall be gov-
erned by rules which shall be prepared and published by the
Synod’s Board of Appeals. Such rules shall, however, be
consistent in all respects with the following basic principles:

a. A Board of Appeals shall be governed in its acts, pro-
cedures, and judgments by the Word of God and Christian
principles.

b. All hearings before a Board of Appeals shall be private.

c. While any proceeding is pending before a Board of
Appeals, no party to such proceeding, or anyone on such
party’s behalf, shall either directly or indirectly have any
form of communication with any member of such Board
of Appeals concerning any matter involved in such proceed-
ing. Similarly, there shall be no such communication with
any member of the Synod’s Board of Appeals while there
is pending before a District Board of Appeals any matter
which is appealable to the Synod’s Board of Appeals.

d. The rules shall permit one or more members of
a Board of Appeals to meet with the parties prior to a hear-
ing of the case in order to determine (1) the issue(s) in the
case and (2) the facts on which the parties agree.

e. The rules shall permit fewer than all members of
a Board, but not fewer than three, to hear a case provided
(1) that all parties to the proceeding consent to such type
of hearing and (2) that the entire record shall be presented
to all members of the board qualified to decide the case and
that all such members of the board shall consider the entire

record and participate in the decision. In appeal cases before
the Synod’s Board of Appeals, there shall be no new hearing,
and the Synod’s Board of Appeals shall render its decision
on the basis of a review of the proceedings before the Dis-
trict Board of Appeals. The Synod’s Board of Appeals may,
however, in its discretion permit or request the submission
of additional evidence when it appears that such evidence
may assist the board in reaching a decision.

f. The Board need not be bound by legal rules of evidence
in every respect but shall require that evidence be relevant.

g. Any party to any proceeding may select as many as
three but not more than three communicant members of
congregations of the Synod as adviser (s).

h. Each party to a proceeding shall assume his respective
expenses, including the expenses of his adviser(s). The .
Synod or the District, as the case may be, shall pay the ex-
penses of its Board of Appeals, including the cost of furnish-
ing transcripts of the evidence to the parties to the proceed-
ing.

i. While a case is still undecided or while appeals are
contemplated or pending, there shall be no publicity of the
case by any party to the proceeding.

j. All files of cases in which a final decision has been
rendered by a Board of Appeals of a District or of the Synod
shall be preserved in a locked file in the custody of the
President of the Synod. Any such closed files shall be opened
only with the approval of the Synod’s Board of Appeals.

k. The rules shall provide for petitions for review by
a Board of Appeals of its decisions.

E. DECISIONS OF THE BOARD
5.51 Majority Vote

A Board of Appeals shall decide each case by the vote
of a majority of members qualified to decide the case. In the
case of a tie vote the previous decision shall be sustained.

5.53 Quorum

No decision of a Board of Appeals shall be valid or bind-
ing unless at least a majority of the members of the board
shall have been involved in the decision-making process.

5.55 Time Limit

A District Board of Appeals shall decide within a three-
month period any case involving expulsion from membership
in the Synod of a member who is under suspension while
the appeal is pending.

5.57 Financial Reimbursement

In any cases in which a Board of Appeals, either a Dis~
trict or Synod, shall decide that the suspension of an indi-
vidual member of the Synod should be set aside, such Board
of Appeals shall, as part of its decision, determine the extent
to which and the manner in which such individual shall be
reimbursed for any loss of income suffered during the period
of suspension, and such determination of the Board of
Appeals shall be binding on all parties, even though the
case may be appealed to the synodical Board of Appeals and
even though the decision of the District Board of Appeals
may ultimately be reversed by the synodical Board of
Appeals.

5.59 Reporting the Decision

The decision of a Board of Appeals shall be reported to
the parties and to either the District President or the Presi-
dent of the Synod, as the case may be, and the District Presi-
dent or the President of the Synod, as the case may be,
shall take such action as shall be appropriate under the
circumstances.

5.61 Decision in Writing

The decision of a Board of Appeals shall be in writing
and (a) shall make a finding of facts and (b) shall state the
conclusion(s) of the board and its reasons for such eonclu-
sion(s).

5.63 Congregation’s Right of Self-Government

When an appeal arises from a decision of a congregation
pursuant to Section 5.21b, the congregation’s right of self-