LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 231

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

of the dispute resolution process.
F. To Provide Opportunity for District Presidents
to Appeal Hearing Panel Decisions
Rationale
Current Bylaws 2.14.7.9, 2.14.8, 2.17.7.9, and 2.17.8 do not grant to
the involved district president the same right to request examination of a decision of a Hearing Panel to an Appeal Panel as they
grant to the member who has been suspended by the district president and the President of the Synod (if a question of doctrine or
practice is involved). One of the participants most involved in these
important processes is thereby not granted the same important
opportunity as the other.
The Commission on Handbook, believing that this was an oversight when the appeal process was incorporated into the Bylaw
section 2.14 and 2.17 dispute resolution processes by a convention, proposes that the involved district president also be provided
opportunity to appeal a Hearing Panel decision by amending these
bylaws as follows.
Therefore be it
Resolved, that Bylaws 2.14.7.9, 2.14.8, 2.17.7.9, and 2.17.8 be
amended as follows:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
2.14.7.9

2.14.8

2.17.7.9

Upon completion of the hearing, the Hearing Panel
shall deliberate and then issue its written decision
within 30 days.

2.17.8

…
__________
G. To Remove Detail regarding Expense Responsibilities
from Bylaw 2.14.7.8 (e)
Rationale
Recognizing its responsibility to provide for “the ongoing maintenance and management of the Handbook” (Bylaw 3.9.4), the
Commission on Handbook proposes that such detail in the Synod’s
expulsion process that assigns responsibility for expenses would be
better addressed in the general rules section of the Standard Operating Procedures Manual provided by the CCM for each procedure.
Therefore be it
Resolved, That Bylaw 2.14.7.8 (e) be removed from the Bylaws of
the Synod as follows:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
2.14.7.8

(a) Copies of the decision shall be mailed to the
accused, the district president who imposed the
suspension, the accuser and his/her district president, the Secretary of the Synod, and the President
of the Synod.
(b) The decision of the Hearing Panel shall be subject to appeal by the accused, the district president
who imposed the suspension, or the President of
the Synod.
…
The decision of the Hearing Panel may be appealed
by the accused (if an active participant in the hearing
before the Hearing Panel), by the district president
who imposed the suspension, or by the President
of the Synod if a question of doctrine or practice is
involved (Constitution Art. XI B 1–3) …
Upon completion of the hearing, the Hearing Panel
shall deliberate and then issue its written decision
within 30 days.
(a) Copies of the decision shall be mailed to the
accused, the district president who imposed the
suspension, the accuser and his/her district president, the Secretary of the Synod, and the President
of the Synod.
(b) The decision of the Hearing Panel shall be subject to appeal by the accused, the district president

“12. Ecclesiastical Supervision and Dispute Resolution”

who imposed the suspension, or the President of
the Synod.
…
The decision of the Hearing Panel may be appealed
by the accused (if an active participant in the hearing before the Hearing Panel), by the ecclesiastical
supervisor who imposed the suspension, or by the
President of the Synod if a question of doctrine or
practice is involved (Constitution Art. XI B 1–3)

The following guidelines are applicable to the Hearing Panel and all involved persons:
…
(d) Any member of the Synod, officer of a congregation, or officer of any organization owned or
controlled by the Synod shall, when called upon
by the panel to do so, testify or produce records
related to the matter.
(e) Each party to the matter shall assume its own
expenses. The expenses of the panel shall be borne
by the district or the Synod.
(fe) No party to the matter, or anyone on the party’s behalf, shall communicate either directly or
indirectly with the panel or any member of the
panel without the full knowledge of the other
party to the matter.
…
__________

H. To Add Definition of Standard Operating Procedures
Manual to Pertinent Bylaws
Rationale
Current bylaws governing dispute resolution assume the existence
of regular updating of a Standard Operating Procedures Manual for
each of the dispute resolution processes in the Bylaws of the Synod
but fail to define what such manuals are and the purpose they serve.
U P O N T H I S R O C K • Resolutions

|

231