Preliminary

1. The courts defined in Parts I and II of this Chapter shall be the ecclesiastical tribunals of the Church of Ireland; they shall possess the powers and proceed in the manner hereinafter prescribed, and shall respectively be called the Diocesan Courts of the several dioceses and united dioceses, and the Court of the General Synod.

2 Jurisdiction

(a) There shall be a Diocesan Court in each diocese or united diocese, which shall have power and jurisdiction to hear appeals from the decision of the Ordinary on all matters so appointed by the law of the Church of Ireland. The Ordinary nevertheless shall have power to refer to the said Court any matter within the jurisdiction of that Court submitted for the Ordinary’s consideration without the Ordinary having given a personal decision thereon. In case of such reference the bishop (as Ordinary) shall not be prevented from presiding at the Diocesan Court.

(b) In all cases where the parties submit, or are bound by the laws of the Church, the Diocesan Court may hear and determine any questions connected with the property of the Church or the administration thereof, or with ecclesiastical rights generally, which may arise between members of the Church of Ireland, if the respondent be resident within the diocese or united diocese in which the court has jurisdiction.

3 The Diocesan Court: Judge, Chancellor, Members and Registrar

(a) In Part I of this Chapter, the word “bishop” shall include an archbishop in relation to any diocese which is normally or temporarily under the governance of an archbishop.

(b) The bishop of the diocese or the bishop’s commissary shall be the judge in the Diocesan Court: Provided always that in case of the disability of any bishop to sit in the Diocesan Court by reason of illness or any other hindrance, such bishop shall have power to appoint another bishop or other member of the clergy to sit as commissary for and in place of the bishop. The bishop, or the bishop’s commissary, shall in every case be assisted by the chancellor.

(c) The bishop of each diocese shall from time to time, as occasion may require, appoint under episcopal seal (which appointment shall be filed of record) a fit and proper person as chancellor, to sit with the bishop in the Diocesan Court as assessor, who shall be a person qualified for election as a lay judge of the Court of the General Synod as provided by section 8(e) of this Chapter or a solicitor of ten years’ practice in any part of Ireland, and shall hold office for ten years (which term may be renewed for further terms of ten years), or until resignation, or order of removal by the bishop founded upon a resolution of the diocesan synod: Provided always that nothing herein contained shall prevent the same person from holding office as chancellor in two or more dioceses.

(d) The clergy of the diocesan synod shall elect three members of the clergy, and the lay synod members shall elect three laypersons, as members of the Diocesan Court, who shall be elected to hold office from 1st January of the first year of the General Synod triennium for three years and be elected triennially thereafter, and shall be eligible for re-election. Any casual vacancy by death, resignation, or continued absence from Ireland for twelve months, occurring among the clerical or lay members of any Diocesan Court, shall be filled as soon as conveniently may be by the clerical or lay members, as the case may be, of the diocesan synod of the diocese in which such vacancy shall have occurred. Any person elected to fill a casual vacancy shall hold office only so long as the person in whose place such person shall have been elected would have held the office if such vacancy had not occurred. The bishop shall in every case summon by rotation to sit with the bishop in the Diocesan Court one member each of the clergy and of the laity from those so elected, to whom, along with the bishop or the bishop’s commissary, all questions of fact shall be referred: Provided, however, that if both parties shall express their consent in writing, it shall be in the power of the bishop or the bishop’s commissary to hear and determine the case alone.

(e) The bishop shall from time to time, as occasion may require, appoint a fit and proper person to be the registrar of the diocese and may also appoint one or more assistant registrars. Each assistant shall perform such of the registrar’s duties as the bishop shall assign. Registrars and assistant registrars shall hold office until otherwise directed by the bishop for the time being or until resignation or death. Registrars and assistant registrars shall receive such salary as the diocesan council of the diocese shall appoint, and such travelling or other expenses incident to the performance of their duties as the diocesan council may determine.

(f) In any special circumstances, particulars whereof shall be filed in the registry of the diocese or united diocese, the bishop may appoint under episcopal seal a fit and proper person to be a deputy chancellor or a deputy registrar of such diocese or united diocese during the continuance of such special circumstances and any such appointment and the duration thereof shall be filed of record. Every deputy so appointed shall during the continuance of such appointment have all the powers and perform all the duties of the chancellor or registrar in the place of whom such deputy is so appointed to act: Provided always that every deputy chancellor shall be qualified as hereinbefore provided with respect to the chancellor.

(g) Every chancellor, deputy chancellor, registrar, deputy registrar, assistant registrar, and elected member of a diocesan court, shall before entering upon the duties of office, make and sign a declaration in the following form:
I, A. B., do solemnly and sincerely declare that I am a member of the Church of Ireland, and that I will faithfully, and to the best of my ability, execute the office of of the diocese (or united diocese, as the case may be) of without fear, favour, affection or malice.

4 Diocesan Registry
The Diocesan Registry shall be established in a place to be named by the bishop, and the diocesan council shall make such provision for the safe custody of the registry and its contents as the bishop shall require.

5 Original Proceedings in and Appeals and References to Diocesan Court

(a) Original proceedings in and appeals and references to Diocesan Court shall be presented by petition in writing, duly signed. The petition shall be lodged with the registrar of the diocese. Such petition shall be in the form set forth in Appendix A hereunto annexed, or as near thereto as the nature of the case will admit. Provided that the petitioner or petitioners, except in the case of an archbishop or bishop, shall be resident within the diocese, or shall have been personally injured or aggrieved by the act complained of.

(b) The petitioner, or petitioners, except in the case of an archbishop or bishop, shall lodge with the registrar of the diocese a sum of £600 or €1,000 (or such other sum as the Rules Committee may from time to time prescribe) as appropriate, as security for the payment by such petitioner or petitioners of all such costs and expenses as may be ordered by the Diocesan Court, or by the Court of the General Synod.

(c) The registrar, within seven days after such money is lodged, shall send a copy of the petition to the respondent, in a registered or recorded letter addressed to the respondent’s residence or last known place of abode; and, after receiving an answer from the respondent, or, if no answer shall in the meantime have been received, after the expiration of fourteen days from the day on which such copy of the petition shall have been so sent, shall lay before the bishop the petition, and the answer (if any) of the respondent thereto.

(d) In all cases where a petition is to be heard in the Diocesan Court, it shall be the duty of the registrar to apply to the chancellor for a citation. The chancellor shall thereupon issue a citation under the chancellor’s hand, requiring the attendance of either of the parties before the Diocesan Court, to be held at such time and place as the chancellor shall in such citation appoint: Provided that the first sitting of the court shall be held not less than one fortnight nor more than three calendar months after the date of issue of the citation.

(e) The chancellor shall, at the instance of either of the parties, issue letters to persons whose evidence may be needed at the hearing, requesting them to attend at such time and place as aforesaid; and, if necessary, requesting them also to bring with them such documents relating to the matters in issue as may be in their possession, power, or procurement.

(f) When any witness shall be unable or unwilling to attend, the chancellor may appoint, in such manner and on such terms as the chancellor shall see fit, a commissioner to take the testimony of such witness; and such witness may be examined, cross-examined, and re-examined, by the parties, or their agents, solicitors, or counsel, before such commissioner. The examination shall be reduced to writing, and signed by the witness and by the commissioner, and shall be forthwith transmitted by the commissioner, under seal, to the chancellor; and the same shall, without further proof, be available and admissible as evidence in all subsequent proceedings in the same case.

(g) The petition, answer, and every other pleading may at any time be amended in such manner and on such terms as the court (or, if the court is not in session, the chancellor) shall think fit and necessary for the purposes of justice.

(h) The evidence of all witnesses examined before the court shall be given viva voce, and shall be recorded as the court shall direct.

(i) The court, after hearing the parties, or such of them as shall appear, their agents, solicitors, or counsel, and the witnesses, shall consider the evidence, and may deliver judgment, which shall be reduced to writing, or shall remit the case to the Court of the General Synod. The court shall make such order as to costs and expenses, including the registrar’s fees and charges, and as to the disposal of the deposit, if any, as it shall think fit.

(j) In every case in which a bishop shall institute proceedings in that bishop’s own Diocesan Court, the bishop shall, and in all other cases may, direct the chancellor to act in the bishop’s place; and such direction shall suffice to confer all the jurisdiction of the bishop on the chancellor in such case.

6 Appeals from Interlocutory Orders of a Diocesan Court

There shall not be any appeal in any suit or other proceeding before a Diocesan Court, without the special leave of the Court, from any interlocutory order not having the effect of a final order, until a final order shall have been pronounced thereon; but when a final order shall have been pronounced, the party appealing therefrom may also appeal from any interlocutory order or orders in the same case.

7 Jurisdiction
(a) An appeal shall lie to the Court of the General Synod from every judgment and order of a Diocesan Court except in the case of proceedings under Chapter IX, section 16.

(b) The Court of the General Synod shall have original jurisdiction in the following matters:

(i) any question of a legal nature which has arisen, or which may arise, in respect to the proceedings at any election to fill a vacancy in the office of an archbishop or bishop;
(ii) any other matter so appointed by the law of the Church of Ireland.

(c) It shall be in the power of the House of Bishops or of the General Synod to refer to the Court of the General Synod, for hearing and determination, any questions of a legal nature which have arisen or which may arise in the course of their proceedings; and the said Court shall thereupon proceed to hear and determine the same in the same manner as in the case of an appeal, or to advise the House of Bishops or the General Synod in respect of the same, as the case may require.

(d) The Court of the General Synod shall not determine any matter or question which, in the opinion of the lay judges, is within the jurisdiction and more proper to be submitted to the consideration and decision of a civil tribunal.

8 Constitution and Membership: Registrar

(a) The Court of the General Synod shall be constituted as follows:

(i) In all cases in which the Representative Body is a party the Court shall be constituted of the three lay judges first in order upon the list of the judges elected, in manner hereinafter provided, by the Standing Committee of the General Synod (not being members of the Representative Body) who may be able to attend.
(ii) In the case of
(a) any question of a legal nature which has arisen, or which may arise, in respect to the proceedings at any election to fill a vacancy in the office of an archbishop or bishop; or

(b) any questions referred to the Court by the House of Bishops or the General Synod under section 7(c) of this Chapter; or
(c) an appeal from a judgment or order of a diocesan court under section 9(d) of this Chapter,
the Court shall be constituted of three ecclesiastical and four lay judges.

(iii) In any other case the Court shall be constituted of two ecclesiastical and three lay judges.

(b) The ecclesiastical judges to constitute a Court of the General Synod shall be the three or two, as the case may be, members of the House of Bishops, first in order of precedence, who may be able to attend.

(c) The lay judges to constitute a Court of the General Synod shall be the four or three, as the case may be, persons first in order upon the list of lay judges as is hereinafter provided, who may be able to attend.

(d) No archbishop or bishop, and no chancellor or deputy chancellor, shall sit in the Court of the General Synod for the hearing of any appeal from the Court of their own diocese.

(e) Every person being a member of the Church of Ireland who holds or shall have held the office of a judge of the Supreme Court or of the High Court of the Republic of Ireland or of a judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland, or who shall have been for not less than ten years a barrister practising at the Irish Bar or at the bar of Northern Ireland, or who shall have been for not less than ten years a practising solicitor admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in Ireland or in Northern Ireland or who holds or has held the office of chancellor of a diocese, shall be qualified for election as a lay judge of the Court of the General Synod.

(f) The Standing Committee of the General Synod shall forthwith after the first ordinary session of each General Synod elect ten lay judges, to constitute the list of lay judges, and shall also from time to time fill by election any vacancy or vacancies which may occur in the list of lay judges for the time being and shall report to the following session of the General Synod.

(g) The registrar of the diocese of Dublin shall be also the registrar of the Court of the General Synod.

9 Proceedings in the Court of the General Synod; Original Jurisdiction

(a) Original proceedings in and references and remittances to the Court of the General Synod shall be presented by petition in writing, duly signed. The petition shall be lodged with the registrar of the Court of the General Synod, and shall be in the form set forth in Appendix A hereto annexed, or as near thereto as the nature of the case will admit. The petition shall be served upon every person named as respondent. The registrar of the Court of the General Synod shall thereupon issue a citation under the registrar’s hand, requiring the attendance of each of the parties before the Court of the General Synod, to be held at such time and place as the registrar shall in such citation appoint.

(b) The decision of the majority of the members of the Court of the General Synod shall be the decision of the Court.

(c) The petitioner or petitioners, except in the case of an archbishop or bishop, shall lodge with the registrar of the Court the sum of £600 or €1,000 (or such other sum as the Rules Committee may from time to time prescribe) as appropriate as security for the payment by the petitioner or petitioners of all such costs and expenses of the proceedings as may be ordered by the Court.

(d) Every party appealing from a judgment or order of a Diocesan Court shall state the grounds of the appeal in writing, in the form set forth in Appendix B hereunto annexed, or as near thereto as the nature of the case will admit, and shall lodge the same, within fourteen days after the judgment or order, with the registrar of the Court of the General Synod. The person or persons so appealing shall lodge with the registrar of the said Court a sum of €1,000 or £600 (or such other sum as the Rules Committee may from time to time prescribe) as security for to pay all such costs and expenses of the appeal as the appellant or appellants may be ordered by the Court of the General Synod to pay. Thereupon it shall be the duty of the registrar to send a copy of the appeal to the Archbishops of Armagh and Dublin, and to the member of the House of Bishops next in order of precedence, and shall obtain from the first in order of precedence of the three ecclesiastical judges of whom the Court may be constituted an order fixing a time and place for hearing the appeal, and the registrar shall summon each member of the Court, and the several parties, to attend at such time and place.

(e) The registrar, within one week after the appeal shall have been lodged, shall require the registrar of the Diocesan Court to return to the Court of the General Synod the petition, the respondent’s answer, if any, and any other pleadings, the notes of the evidence taken in the Diocesan Court, and the written judgment and order of the said Court, and the diocesan registrar shall forthwith return the same accordingly, authenticated by the diocesan registrar’s signature.

(f) The Court of the General Synod, having before it the evidence taken in the Diocesan Court, may allow either party to the appeal to produce additional evidence, either orally or taken by a commission, or by the further examination or cross-examination of witnesses examined before the Diocesan Court. When the parties, or such of them as shall attend upon the appeal, shall have been heard by themselves, their agents, solicitors, counsel, and witnesses, if any, the Court shall deliver such judgment and order as the case may require, which shall be reduced to writing and shall be final.

(g) The Court of the General Synod shall have power upon appeal to set aside, vary or confirm the judgment or order of the Diocesan Court, and to direct by whom the costs and expenses of the proceedings, including the registrar’s fees and charges, shall be defrayed or borne, and to dispose of the deposit or deposits, if any, as it shall think fit.

10 General

(a) The several courts hereinbefore mentioned in Parts I and II of this Chapter shall be open to the public, unless the judge or judges shall deem it expedient to sit in private on account of the matter of the enquiry or misconduct of the audience or any other urgent reason, in which case each of the parties may require that not more than six persons chosen by each of the parties shall be permitted to be present.

(b) No person who is a party to any suit shall act as a member of the court by which the suit is heard.

(c) The judge or judges of every court may from time to time adjourn the court as they shall deem fit.

(d) It shall be the duty of every member of the Church of Ireland to attend and give evidence, when duly summoned to do so, at any hearing or investigation held under the authority of the Constitution.

(e) Every person who shall be called as a witness at any hearing or investigation held as aforesaid, shall, before giving evidence, make a solemn declaration to speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

(f) When the court shall have signed its judgment or order, the same shall be filed of record in the registry of the diocese, or of the Court of the General Synod, as the case may be.

(g) The several proceedings of or on behalf of each court shall be prepared and recorded by the registrar of the court in which the case shall be pending, as the case may require.

(h) The General Synod may from time to time, by resolution, regulate and provide for the election and summoning of the Court of the General Synod and for giving effect to the provisions of this Chapter, as occasion may require.

11 Rules Committee of Ecclesiastical Tribunals

(a) The members of the House of Bishops, with the ten elected lay judges of the Court of the General Synod, shall constitute the Rules Committee of ecclesiastical tribunals under parts I and II of this Chapter.

(b) The Rules Committee, or any three members thereof, one being an archbishop, may make rules for carrying the provisions of Parts I and II of this Chapter into effect, and in particular for regulating all matters relating to procedure, practice, costs, expenses, and fees, giving security for costs, the pronouncement of judgments and orders, the validity of proceedings notwithstanding irregularity or defects of form, proceedings in the case of persons who cannot be found or served, the liability to and recovery of costs and expenses; the forms to be used, and all matters incidental to or connected with the administration of the ecclesiastical law of the Church of Ireland except any question of discipline involving any archbishop, bishop or member of the clergy and except any question of doctrine that arises during the course of a disciplinary hearing.

(c) Every rule made in pursuance of this section shall be signed by three or more members of the Rules Committee, and shall be presented to the General Synod on the first day of its session next after the making of such rule, and it shall be lawful for the General Synod by a resolution to annul such rule without prejudice to the validity of anything done in the meantime in pursuance thereof; and every such rule, unless annulled as aforesaid, shall, while unrevoked, be of the same validity as if enacted in this Chapter.

(d) Until further rules shall have been made in pursuance of this section, and subject to such rules when made, the rules, orders, forms and fees, dated 9th May 1935, and laid before the General Synod of 1935, as amended, shall be the rules, orders, forms and fees of the Diocesan Courts and registries, and of the Court of the General Synod and of the registry thereof respectively: Provided however that subject to the proviso to section 3(e) of this Chapter all fees of diocesan courts and registries shall be credited to diocesan funds.

12 Evidence by way of Statutory Declarations

It shall be lawful for the ecclesiastical tribunals under Parts I and II of this Chapter to receive in evidence statutory declarations of witnesses, but upon such terms, if any, as to requiring the cross-examination of the witness either before the court itself or by commission or written interrogatories, or as to allowing such declarations to be answered, as may be directed by the court or prescribed by rules framed in pursuance of this Chapter.

13 Petition for a Rehearing

It shall be lawful for any person aggrieved by any judgment, or order of the Court of the General Synod, at any time within one year next after the date of such judgment, or order, to present a petition to the said Court, praying that the case may be reheard upon grounds to be set forth in such petition, and requesting that the judgment, or order may be set aside or varied; and thereupon it shall be lawful for the said Court, or any two members thereof, upon just and reasonable grounds, to order that the case shall be reheard by the said Court, and such rehearing shall take place when and as the said Court shall direct: Provided that the said Court or such members thereof may impose such terms, by way of security for costs and expenses, and by way of admission or otherwise, as shall be deemed just and proper.

14 Power to grant Licences, Dispensations and Faculties

The archbishops and bishops of the Church of Ireland shall have, and may use, all the same powers of granting licences, dispensations, faculties, and other writings which they had and might have used at the time of the passing of the Irish Church Act, 1869: Provided that all persons feeling aggrieved by the granting or withholding of any faculty, except in the case of the granting or withholding of a faculty for ordination, shall be entitled to have their case heard and determined by the Diocesan Court.

15 Power to declare vacant an Office held by a Layperson

If any layperson shall have been convicted and sentenced, by any of the temporal courts, for any criminal offence, or shall be a fugitive from justice in any case in which a warrant has been issued for such person’s apprehension, or shall have ceased to be a member of the Church of Ireland, or shall be incapacitated by mental infirmity, or shall wilfully and without sufficient cause have neglected or refused to attend and give evidence when duly summoned to do so at any trial or investigation held under the authority of the Constitution, the archbishop or bishop of the diocese, with the advice of the archbishop’s or bishop’s chancellor, may, by order under episcopal hand and seal, declare any office in the Church of Ireland to which such layperson may have been elected or appointed to be vacant, and the same shall thereupon be filled in due course.

16 Costs and Expenses in the Court of the General Synod

(a) In all proceedings duly taken in the Court of the General Synod, it shall be lawful for the said Court, if in its discretion it shall so think fit, to order the payment, out of the General Purposes Fund, of the costs and expenses, in whole or in part, of such proceedings, or of any other legal proceedings consequent thereon, or incidental thereto; subject to the rules and regulations in force for the time being, and subject also to the provisions, limitations and conditions hereinafter contained in this section 16.

(b) No costs or expenses shall be paid out of the General Purposes Fund to or for any unsuccessful party - other than an archbishop or bishop.

(c) No costs or expenses shall, in any case, be paid out of the General Purposes Fund, which can be recovered either from any unsuccessful party, or by enforcing any security given for the payment of costs or expenses in the proceedings.

(d) No order for the payment of any costs or expenses out of the General Purposes Fund to or for any party - other than an archbishop or bishop - shall be made in any case which, in the opinion of the Court, does not involve or affect the general interest or discipline of the Church, or is not of sufficient importance to justify the application of that fund to the payment of the costs and expenses mentioned in the order.

(e) The Court shall have power, in each case, either to order the costs and expenses to be taxed or moderated as prescribed by rules, or to measure and fix the amount to be paid out of the General Purposes Fund.

(f) The Court shall have power, if, having regard to the length of time occupied by the hearing or to any other special circumstances connected with the case, the Court in its discretion shall so think fit, to order the payment out of the General Purposes Fund of the expenses necessarily incurred by any members of the Court in attending such proceedings.

17 Costs and Expenses in a Diocesan Court

It shall be lawful for any diocesan synod, or for any diocesan council, with the authority of or subject to the approval of the synod of the diocese, to make such provision, by means of a diocesan general purposes fund or otherwise, for or towards the payment of the costs and expenses of proceedings duly taken in the Diocesan Court, as may to such diocesan synod or council seem necessary or expedient.

Part IV

18 Definitions and Interpretation

(a) Unless the context otherwise requires, in this Part of this Chapter:

“Appellant” means a Respondent who has appealed a finding and/or order of a Disciplinary Tribunal in accordance with section 34;
“Appeal Tribunal” means a tribunal, appointed under section 34 (d) to hear an appeal;
"Complaint" means any complaint or allegation touching or apparently touching upon the conduct (whether by act or omission), behaviour, performance or affairs of any bishop or any member of the clergy in respect of any of the matters mentioned in section 25;
“Complainant” means a person who brings a Complaint to the attention of the Complaints Administrator;
“Complaints Committee” means the committee appointed under section 21;
“Complaints Administrator” means the person appointed by the Standing Committee with the approval of the Representative Body to be the Complaints Administrator for the purposes of this Part of this Chapter;
“Disciplinary Bodies” means the Complaints Administrator, the Complaints Committee, the Disciplinary Panel, each Disciplinary Tribunal and each Appeal Tribunal;
“Disciplinary Tribunal” means a tribunal appointed under section 31(a) to hear a Formal Complaint;
“Disciplinary Panel” means the panel of persons appointed under section 22;
"Formal Complaint" means a Complaint that has been formulated by the Complaints Committee and referred by it to a Disciplinary Tribunal in accordance with this Part of this Chapter;
“House of Bishops” means the archbishops and bishops of the Church of Ireland for the time being;
“Lawyer” means any person who is or was a judge in any part of Ireland, or is a solicitor or barrister who has practised for more than 10 years in any part of Ireland;
“Respondent” means any bishop or any member of the clergy in respect of whom a Formal Complaint has been referred to a Disciplinary Tribunal; and
“Standing Committee” means the Standing Committee of the General Synod.

(b) For the purposes of this Part of this Chapter only and not otherwise the term ‘member of the clergy’ shall, unless otherwise specifically provided, mean a deacon or priest of the Church of Ireland and the term ‘bishop’ shall include an archbishop.

(c) References in this Part of this Chapter to sections are, unless otherwise stated, references to sections of this Part of this Chapter.

19 Pastoral Resolution

(a) All members of the church are called to exercise a ministry of reconciliation. It is preferable, therefore, that all complaints and disputes be resolved pastorally within each diocese; that complaints against clergy be dealt with pastorally by diocesan bishops; or, in the case of complaints against a bishop by the archbishop of the province; or in the case of an archbishop by the archbishop of the other province.

(b) Bishops have a general duty whenever it is appropriate to endeavour to reconcile the parties involved in any complaint and achieve an outcome within their diocese accepted by all the parties as a first step before the disciplinary processes in this Chapter are set in motion. In fulfilling this function a bishop may put in place an enquiry, a process of conciliation or mediation or such other process of reconciliation or resolution as the bishop shall think appropriate.

(c) Only where a bishop, in that bishop’s absolute discretion, determines that such pastoral resolution or reconciliation has not been possible or is not appropriate should recourse be had to the disciplinary process set out in this Part of this Chapter.

20 Appointment of a Complaints Administrator

The Standing Committee shall, in consultation with the Representative Body, from time to time appoint a person on such terms and subject to such conditions as it may think fit to be the Complaints Administrator for the purposes of this Part of this Chapter and, with the approval of the Representative Body, may remove any person so appointed and appoint another in his or her place. The person so appointed shall be a human resources practitioner or a Lawyer or other suitably qualified person. No person who is an employee of the Representative Body or a member of the clergy may be appointed as the Complaints Administrator.

21 Appointment and Composition of the Complaints Committee

(a) The Complaints Committee shall consist of one clerical and one lay representative of each diocese or united diocese under the jurisdiction of one bishop and two members appointed by the Standing Committee.

(b) The clergy of the diocesan synod of each diocesan or united diocesan synod shall elect one member of the clergy as a member of the Complaints Committee. The lay members of each diocesan or united diocesan synod shall elect a layperson as a member of the Complaints Committee. The members so elected shall be elected to hold office from 1st January of the first year of the General Synod triennium for six years and be elected every second triennium thereafter, and shall be eligible for re-election.

(c) Any casual vacancy by death, resignation, or continued absence from Ireland for twelve months, occurring among the clerical or lay members of the Complaints Committee, shall be filled as soon as conveniently may be by the clerical or lay members, as the case may be, of the diocesan synod or united diocesan synod which elected the person being replaced. Any person elected to fill a casual vacancy shall hold office only for so long as the person in whose place he or she shall have been elected would have held the office if such vacancy had not occurred.

(d) The quorum for meetings of the Complaints Committee shall be six persons, so long as there are at least two members of the clergy and two laypersons attending thereat. Any meeting of the Complaints Committee at which a quorum is present shall be competent to exercise all the functions and powers conferred upon the Complaints Committee by this Part of this Chapter.

(e) The Complaints Committee may delegate such of its functions and powers to sub-committees of its own members as it may deem necessary or convenient. Any sub-committee so formed shall comprise at least two members of the clergy and two laypersons and shall, in the exercise of the functions and powers so delegated, conform to any regulations that may be imposed on it by the Complaints Committee.

(f) The Standing Committee shall from time to time appoint a chairperson and a vice-chairperson of the Complaints Committee from amongst the members of the Complaints Committee.

(g) No person shall be a member of the Complaints Committee at the same time as he or she is a member of the Disciplinary Panel.

22 Appointment and Composition of the Disciplinary Panel

(a) The Disciplinary Panel shall consist of not less than four members of the clergy and not less than eight laypersons of whom at least four shall be Lawyers.

(b) The Standing Committee shall prior to the commencement of the General Synod triennium appoint the members of the Disciplinary Panel. The members so appointed shall be appointed to hold office from 1st January of the first year of the General Synod triennium for six years and be appointed every second triennium thereafter, and shall be eligible for re-appointment. No member of the Standing Committee may be a member of the Disciplinary Panel.

(c) Any casual vacancy by death, resignation, or continued absence from Ireland for twelve months, occurring among the members of the Disciplinary Panel, shall be filled as soon as conveniently may be by the Standing Committee. Any person appointed to fill a casual vacancy shall hold office only so long as the person in whose place he or she shall have been appointed would have held the office if such vacancy had not occurred.

(d) The Standing Committee shall from time to time appoint from those members of the Disciplinary Panel who are Lawyers a chairperson and a vice-chairperson of the Disciplinary Panel.

(e) No person shall be a member of the Disciplinary Panel at the same time as he or she is a member of the Complaints Committee.

23 Funding of Complaints Committee

(a) Prior to the beginning of each year the Complaints Committee shall prepare and submit to the Standing Committee for consideration and onward submission to the Representative Body an annual budget for that year.

(b) The Representative Body may approve, with or without amendment, the annual budget. Where the Representative Body wishes to approve an annual budget with amendment it must first consult with the Standing Committee and the chairperson and/or vice chairperson of the Complaints Committee.

(c) The Complaints Committee may if it considers it necessary to do so, undertake, during the course of a year, an interim review of its annual budget and following such review submit an amended or supplementary budget to the Standing Committee for consideration and onward submission to the Representative Body for approval. Section 23(b) applies with any necessary changes if an amended or a supplementary annual budget is submitted.

(d) In each year the Representative Body shall provide, in such instalments as it sees fit, a grant equal to the budget approved in accordance with Section 23(b) for that financial year (including any amended or supplementary budget approved for that year). Any part of such a grant not expended or committed in that year shall be returned to the Representative Body.

(e) Within one month of the end of each year the Complaints Committee shall submit to the Representative Body and the Standing Committee an income and expenditure account for the Complaints Committee for that year.

24 Duty to co-operate and Duty to have regard to Bishop’s Role

(a) It shall be the duty of every bishop and every member of the clergy of the Church of Ireland to co-operate fully at every phase of the disciplinary process provided for under this Part of this Chapter. It shall be the duty of every bishop and every such member (including those who are not involved in or the subject of the said disciplinary process) to provide such information, explanations, documents and computer and other electronic records as the Complaints Administrator, the Complaints Committee, a Disciplinary Tribunal or an Appeal Tribunal, as the case may be, may consider necessary to enable them to carry out their respective duties under this Part of this Chapter.

(b) It shall be the duty of every lay member of the Church of Ireland to co-operate fully at every phase of the disciplinary process provided for under this Part of this Chapter. It shall be the duty of every such member (including such members who are not involved in or the subject of the said disciplinary process) to provide such information, explanations, documents and computer and other electronic records as the Complaints Administrator, the Complaints Committee, a Disciplinary Tribunal or an Appeal Tribunal, as the case may be, may consider necessary to enable them to carry out their respective duties under this Part of this Chapter.

(c) The bishops and archbishops of the Church of Ireland have by virtue of their respective offices and consecration a role in administering discipline and each of the Disciplinary Bodies shall, in exercising its functions under this Part of this Chapter, have due regard to that role as outlined in section 19.

(d) Members of the Complaints Committee and any Disciplinary Tribunal or Appeal Tribunal shall not be capable of performing any of the duties of office until they have signed the following declaration:

I, A.B.,¹ (do solemnly declare that I am a member of the Church of Ireland, and a communicant of the said Church, and) being fully sensible how important it is that complaints involving members of the clergy and bishops of the Church of Ireland be adjudicated on in a fair and unbiased manner in accordance with proper procedures undertake that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my knowledge and power perform my duties as a member of without fear or favour or affection or ill-will towards any person, and that I will uphold the Constitution and other laws of the Church of Ireland for the glory of God, the good of his Church, and the welfare of his people.
(Signed), A.B.
Dated day of

25 Liability of Members of the Clergy and Bishops to Disciplinary Action

A member of the clergy or a bishop shall be liable to disciplinary action if he or she is guilty of:

• an act or omission which would have been a breach or violation of the ecclesiastical law of the United Church of England and Ireland, and an offence punishable by such law in Ireland, at the time of the passing of the Irish Church Act, 1869, and which is a breach or violation of the ecclesiastical law of the Church of Ireland for the time being;
• any crime for the time being punishable by law in any part of Ireland;
• failure to obey any order of a Diocesan Court, the Court of the General Synod or any Disciplinary Body;
• immorality;
• drunkenness or substance abuse;
• neglect of duty;
• conduct unbecoming to the sacred calling of a person in holy orders;
• any other act or omission which is a breach or violation of the canons or other laws of the Church of Ireland, for the time being; or
• teaching or publishing of any doctrine contrary to the doctrines of the Church of Ireland.

26 Right to Make a Complaint

(a) Any bishop, any member of the clergy or any lay member of the Church of Ireland who has a proper interest may bring to the attention of the Complaints Administrator any Complaint in respect of a member of the clergy by means of a written submission signed by such person.

(b) Any bishop or any member of the clergy or any lay member of the Church of Ireland who has a proper interest may bring to the attention of the Complaints Administrator any complaint in respect of a bishop by means of a written submission signed by such person.

(c) Any such written submission must be accompanied by the sum of £600 or €1,000 (or such other sum as the Rules Committee may from time to time prescribe). Such sum shall be held by the Complaints Administrator and shall be returned to the Complainant unless the Complaint is dismissed pursuant to section 27(a), 28(a) or the Complaints Committee is of the opinion that a prima facie case has not been made out in respect of the Complaint. Where such a written submission is made by a lay member or members of the Church of Ireland, it must incorporate a written confirmation on the part of each such lay member that he or she is a member of the Church of Ireland.
27 Processing of Complaints in respect of Members of the Clergy by the Complaints Administrator

(a) If the Complaints Administrator is of the opinion that a Complaint made in respect of a member of the clergy discloses no reasonable grounds upon which a case could be made that the member of the clergy is liable to disciplinary action under this Part of this Chapter then, subject to obtaining the written approval of either the chairperson or vice chairperson of the Complaints Committee, the Complaints Administrator may dismiss the Complaint. Such a dismissal shall not be a defence to a subsequent Complaint in relation to the same or substantially the same matters.

(b) Unless a Complaint made in respect of a member of the clergy has been dismissed under section 27(a) or the relevant bishop has already determined that pastoral resolution in accordance with section 19 has not been possible or is not appropriate, the Complaints Administrator shall convey details of the Complaint to the bishop of the diocese in which the member of the clergy against whom the Complaint has been made is beneficed or licensed for pastoral resolution in accordance with section 19.

(c) If and when a bishop determines that pastoral resolution of a Complaint in respect of a member of the clergy which has been referred to the bishop for pastoral resolution in accordance with section 19 is not possible or not appropriate, the Complaints Administrator shall convey such Complaint made to the Complaints Committee.

(d) The bishop of the diocese in which the member of the clergy against whom a Complaint has been made is beneficed or licensed may, if the bishop considers it proper to do so, suspend from office that member of the clergy until such time as all disciplinary proceedings under this Part of this Chapter relating to that Complaint have been finally completed. Any member of the clergy so suspended may continue to reside in the glebe house and shall be entitled to a full stipend for the period of such suspension and such expenses as the bishop may determine. He or she must, however, if so required by the relevant bishop, deliver up to the bishop all books, keys and other property held by him or her by virtue of his or her office as are necessary to enable any member of the clergy, appointed by the bishop to look after the benefice during his or her period of suspension, to carry out his or her functions.

28 Processing of Complaints in respect of a Bishop by the Complaints Administrator

(a) Where a Complaint is made against a bishop or archbishop, the Complaints Administrator shall, in the first instance, consult with the archbishop of the province, or in the case of an archbishop, the archbishop of the other province, and together they shall determine whether reasonable grounds have been disclosed upon which a case could be made that the bishop or archbishop is liable to disciplinary action under this Part of this Chapter. If they are of the opinion that the Complaint discloses no reasonable grounds then, subject to obtaining the written approval of either the chairperson or vice chairperson of the Complaints Committee, the Complaints Administrator may dismiss the Complaint. Such a dismissal shall not be a defence to a subsequent complaint in relation to the same or substantially the same matters.

(b) Unless a Complaint made in respect of a bishop has been dismissed under section 28(a) or the relevant archbishop has already determined that pastoral resolution in accordance with section 19 has not been possible or is not appropriate, the Complaints Administrator shall convey details of the Complaint to the archbishop of the relevant province or, in the case of an archbishop, the other province for pastoral resolution in accordance with section 19.

(c) If and when an archbishop determines that pastoral resolution of a Complaint in respect of a bishop which has been referred to the archbishop for pastoral resolution in accordance with section 19 is not possible or not appropriate, the Complaints Administrator shall convey such Complaint made to the Complaints Committee.

(d) The archbishop of the relevant province (or, in the case of a Complaint made against an archbishop, the archbishop of the other province) may, if the archbishop considers it proper to do so, suspend a bishop against whom a Complaint has been made from office until such time as all disciplinary proceedings under this Part of this Chapter relating to that Complaint have been finally completed. Any bishop so suspended may continue to reside in the see house and shall be entitled to a full stipend for the period of such suspension. The bishop must, however, if so required by the relevant archbishop, deliver up all books, keys and other property held by the bishop by virtue of the bishop’s office.

29 Investigation of Complaints by the Complaints Committee

(a) Where a Complaint has been conveyed to the Complaints Committee by the Complaints Administrator, the Complaints Committee shall investigate the Complaint in order to decide whether or not a prima facie case has been made out that the bishop or the member of the clergy concerned is liable to disciplinary action under this Part of this Chapter.

(b) Before reaching a decision as to whether or not such a prima facie case has been made out, the Complaints Committee shall:

(i) provide to the bishop or member of the clergy concerned, where the Complaint has been brought to the attention of the Complaints Administrator in writing, a copy of such writing and, where the Complaint was brought to the attention of the Complaints Administrator otherwise than in writing or came to the attention of the Complaints Administrator otherwise than as a result of a Complaint made by a Complainant, a synopsis prepared by the Complaints Administrator of the Complaint together with brief details of the material then before the Committee and upon which it proposes to base its decision as to whether or not a prima facie case has been made out; and

(ii) give the bishop or member of the clergy concerned an opportunity of making such written representations to it as he or she may consider appropriate to the deliberations of the Committee.

(c) In addition the Complaints Committee may, in its absolute discretion, give the bishop or member of the clergy concerned, the Complainant and the Complaints Administrator an opportunity of being heard before it. If the Complaints Committee gives any of such persons such an opportunity it shall offer a like opportunity to the other(s) of them.

(d) If the Complaints Committee is of the opinion that a prima facie case has not been made out in respect of any Complaint, it shall so notify in writing the bishop or member of the clergy concerned, the Complainant and the Complaints Administrator.

(e) If the Complaints Committee is of the opinion that a prima facie case as aforesaid has been made out, it may in its absolute discretion:

(i) decide that no further action be taken on the Complaint or any specified part of it; or

(ii) decide that, notwithstanding such prima facie case, further consideration of the whole or part of the Complaint be deferred on such terms and conditions as it considers appropriate; or

(iii) deal with the whole or part of the Complaint by way of a consent order under section 30; or
(iv) refer the Complaint to mediation in such manner as the Committee may direct; or

(v) refer the whole or part of the Complaint to a Disciplinary Tribunal as a Formal Complaint in terms formulated by the Committee,

and the Complaints Committee shall notify, in writing, the bishop or member of the clergy concerned, the Complainant and the Complaints Administrator that a prima facie case has been made out against the bishop or member of the clergy concerned, and which course of action, of those listed in this section, the Complaints Committee intends to take.

30 Consent Orders

(a) Where the Complaints Committee decides to deal with a Complaint by way of a consent order the provisions of this section shall apply.

(b) The Complaints Committee may, with the agreement of the bishop or the member of the clergy concerned, make any one or more of the orders which, on finding a Formal Complaint proved, a Disciplinary Tribunal would have power to make in respect of a Respondent.

(c) Any such order may be made upon such terms and conditions (if any) as the Complaints Committee may, in its absolute discretion, consider appropriate.

(d) Before making any order under section 30(b) the Complaints Committee shall serve on the bishop or member of the clergy concerned a notice describing the order which it would make if the bishop or member of the clergy agrees.

(e) A notice under section 30(d) must:

(i) explain the extent to which the finding of the Complaints Committee would be published and/or otherwise communicated to others; and

(ii) state that, if the bishop or member of the clergy does not agree in writing to the proposed action within a stated period, of not less than fourteen days, the Complaint will be referred to the Disciplinary Tribunal as a Formal Complaint.

(f) If, within the period stated in the notice (or such extended period, if any, as the Complaints Committee, in its absolute discretion, may allow), the bishop or member of the clergy concerned agrees in writing to the Complaints Committee proceeding as proposed in the notice, the Committee shall make the order specified in the notice unless, having regard to any further information which it has received, it is of the opinion:

(i) that a lesser or no sanction is appropriate, in which case it shall impose a lesser or no sanction, as the case may be;

(ii) that a smaller or no sum is appropriate by way of costs, in which case it shall order a smaller sum to be paid by way of costs or make no order as to costs, as the case may be;

(iii) that no prima facie case exists, in which case it shall so find; or

(iv) that a greater sanction is appropriate, in which case before taking any order that goes beyond that described in the notice served under section 30(d) it shall serve on the member of the clergy concerned a supplemental notice identifying the further information and indicating the alternative order the Complaints Committee intends making.

(g) If the bishop or member of clergy concerned does not, within the period stated in the notice or supplemental notice (or such extended period as the Complaints Committee in its absolute discretion may have allowed), agree in writing to the Complaints Committee proceeding as proposed in such notice, the Complaints Committee shall refer the Complaint as a Formal Complaint to the Disciplinary Tribunal.

(h) The Complaints Committee may publish details of each consent order made by it in the Journal of the General Synod, and may otherwise publish or communicate details of any consent order in such manner as it in its absolute discretion thinks fit.

31 Disciplinary Tribunals

(a) When a Formal Complaint is referred to a Disciplinary Tribunal by the Complaints Committee, the chairperson of the Disciplinary Panel or, failing him or her, the vice-chairperson of such Panel shall appoint a Disciplinary Tribunal from, except for any bishop appointed, the members of the Disciplinary Panel to hear the Formal Complaint. The Tribunal shall consist of a Lawyer as chairperson and one member of the clergy (or, where the Respondent is a bishop, one bishop nominated by the House of Bishops) and one layperson. No former member of the Complaints Committee who has been concerned with the Complaint which is the subject of the Formal Complaint shall be eligible for appointment to such Disciplinary Tribunal. No person who is ordinarily resident in the diocese in which the Respondent is beneficed or licensed shall be eligible for appointment to such Disciplinary Tribunal.

(b) If, for any reason, prior to the time fixed for the hearing of the Formal Complaint, any member of the Tribunal becomes unable to act, the chairperson or, failing him or her, the vice-chairperson of the Disciplinary Panel shall co-opt another eligible person from the Disciplinary Panel to act in his or her place.

(c) If, for any reason, any member of the Disciplinary Tribunal (other than the chairperson thereof) is, during the course of the hearing, unable to continue to attend the hearing, the remaining members, provided that they are not less than two in number, may continue with the hearing, but if the Respondent is present they shall do so only if he or she consents. Save as aforesaid the Formal Complaint shall be re-heard by a new Disciplinary Tribunal appointed by the chairperson or, failing him or her, the vice-chairperson of the Disciplinary Panel in accordance with section 31(a).

(d) If at any time during the hearing of a Formal Complaint, the Disciplinary Tribunal is of the opinion that it is for any reason inappropriate for it to complete the hearing, the chairperson or failing him or her, the vice-chairperson of the Disciplinary Panel shall appoint a new Disciplinary Tribunal to re-hear the Formal Complaint.

(e) Where a Formal Complaint is re-heard pursuant to sections 31(c) or 31(d), none of the members of the original Tribunal may be appointed to the new Tribunal.

Chapter VIII - Ecclesiastical Tribunals, Offences, Sentences, Faculties & Registries sub-sections 32 to 42 (part 2) may be accessed by clicking here

Footnote:

1) The words in brackets shall be omitted when the declaration is made by a member of the clergy.