Ordinance of the Evangelical Synod of the Canton of Thurgau on the Administration of Justice of the Thurgau State Church (Administration of Justice Ordinance) (Rechtspflegeverordnung) - Principle

1. This Regulation governs

1. the procedure before the Church Council

2. the procedure before the Appeals and Complaints Commission

3. the supervisory complaint procedure before the Church Administration or the Supervisory Commission of the Church Communities

1. For proceedings before ecclesiastical authorities, the Law on Administrative Justice of the Canton of Thurgau (VRG) applies, insofar as this ordinance does not stipulate otherwise.

1. Authorities are defined as the church councils, the supervisory commissions of the church congregations, the church council, as well as the appeal and complaint commissions.

1. Decisions are orders by authorities in individual cases that are based on the law of the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Thurgau or public law and concern

1. the establishment, alteration, or revocation of rights or obligations,

2. the determination of the existence, non-existence, or scope of rights or obligations,

3. the rejection of requests for the establishment, alteration, revocation, or determination of rights or obligations, as well as the non-consideration of such requests.

2. Enforcement and interim orders are also considered decisions.

1. The Recusal Rule according to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) applies. Furthermore, a member of the Appeal and Complaint Commission must recuse themselves in matters concerning their own parish.

1. The parties concerned shall be given a hearing before a decision is issued, except in enforcement proceedings.

1. The parties involved have the right to access the files.

2. Access to a document may be denied if it is intended exclusively for internal administrative use or if important public or legitimate private interests are opposed. Such documents must be marked as confidential.

3. If access to the files is denied due to legitimate private interests, the essential content of the document must be disclosed orally or in writing to the extent permitted by the interests to be protected.

1. The authority investigates the facts and collects evidence ex officio where necessary.

2. If the facts cannot be sufficiently clarified in any other way, the Church Council or the Appeal and Complaint Commission may have formal witness examinations conducted by suitable persons. The other authorities must commission the district offices to conduct the witness examinations.

1. The authority decides based on the facts of the case through free evaluation of the evidence, without being bound by the requests of the parties involved. It applies the law ex officio.

1. A Decision Must Contain

1. the facts, legal principles, and reasons on which it is based

2. the designation of the deciding authority and, for bodies involved in administrative jurisdiction, their composition

3. the ruling

4. the cost regulation

5. the reference to the admissible ordinary legal remedy, including the deadline and instance

6. the recipients

7. the dates of the decision and dispatch

8. the required signatures

1. The decision shall be delivered by registered letter.

1. The period for filing an appeal begins on the day following the delivery of a decision.

2. In the case of resolutions by the church congregation, it begins on the day following the date of the resolution.

1. The provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (VRG) regarding the preservation of deadlines, the extension of deadlines, and the reinstatement of deadlines also apply to the appeal and complaint procedures before the Church Council and the Appeal and Complaint Commission.

2. If the deadline for submitting an appeal or complaint falls during the court recess, it is considered extended until the seventh day after the end of the recess.

3. The court recess according to the Administrative Justice Act applies to the appeal and complaint procedures.

1. The Church Council decides as the appeal and supervisory complaint authority fundamentally in full composition.

2. If a member must abstain due to personal reasons, they shall leave the meeting. In other cases, they remain present but do not participate in the discussion or voting.

3. The observance of recusal must be noted in the resolution.

1. The President shall direct the proceedings.

2. The Secretary shall participate in the meetings with an advisory vote and has the right to submit motions.

3. Furthermore, the provisions concerning the Appeals and Complaints Commission shall apply.

1. The Appeals and Complaints Commission according to § 74 of the Constitution of the Evangelical Church of the Canton of Thurgau decides both in appeal and complaint procedures in a panel of five, which includes two clergy members and at least one legal expert. Each commission member is obliged to cast a vote.

2. In a panel of seven, it elects the Vice President and the Secretary.

3. ...

1. The President represents the Commission externally. He or she appoints and supervises the clerical staff.

2. The President conducts a business audit.

1. As an actuary, a member of the commission serves. He or she keeps the minutes and edits the decisions.

2. The Appeals and Complaints Commission can, in a five-member formation, appoint an extraordinary actuary for special cases.

1. Oral hearings shall take place only at the request of a party or by order of the proceedings management.

2. Otherwise, the procedure shall be conducted in writing.

1. The commission typically makes its decisions based on an oral deliberation during a meeting. The deliberation is not public.

2. In cases of an obviously clear legal situation or urgency, decisions can be made through the circular method, provided no member raises an objection.

3. If an appeal or complaint procedure is resolved due to settlement, withdrawal, or acknowledgment, the presidency records the procedure from the minutes through an independent presidential decision.

1. The Appeals and Complaints Commission provides an annual report on its activities in the Church Council's annual report to the Synod.

1. The Synod issues a regulation on the organization of the supervisory commission of the church community.

2. ...

1. The addresses of the presidency and the actuary of the supervisory commission must be communicated to the church council in writing within three months after the commencement of their term of office.

1. Decisions of the church leadership, the supervisory commission, or resolutions of the church community, as well as first-instance decisions of the church council, can be appealed.

1. Right to Appeal: The right to appeal is granted to anyone who is affected by a decision and has a legitimate interest in having it revoked or modified.

1. Appeal Instances are

1. the Church Council for decisions of the Church Administrations and for resolutions of the Church Communities

2. the Appeal and Complaint Commission for first-instance decisions of the Church Council and decisions of the Supervisory Commissions

1. The appeal document must be submitted in writing to the appellate authority, signed and in duplicate, within 30 days of the notification of the contested decision, accompanied by or with a precise identification of the decision. The appeal must contain a request and a statement of reasons, as well as list the evidence.

2. In the case of deficient appeal submissions, the presidency shall set a deadline for the appellant to rectify the deficiencies and shall simultaneously inform them that if the period expires without action, the decision will be made based on the files, or if the request, statement of reasons, or signature is missing, the appeal will not be admitted.

1. The appeal may address any defects in the procedure and in the contested decision.

2. In matters within the own sphere of activity of the church congregation and the church council, the appellant cannot invoke the inappropriateness of the decision.

1. If the appeal is not evidently inadmissible or unfounded from the outset, it shall be delivered to the lower court and any other parties involved whose legitimate interests are affected by the appeal request for a written statement.

2. With the written statement, the lower court shall forward the records.

3. The appellate instance may order a further exchange of written submissions or an oral hearing.

4. In suitable cases, the appellate instance seeks an amicable resolution.

1. The appellate instance decides independently of the submissions of the parties involved. It can exceed the request of the appellant in their favor, alter the contested decision to their detriment, or remand the matter to the lower instance for a new decision.

2. Due to disproportionality, the contested decision may only be changed to the detriment of the appellant if the alteration is in favor of another party involved. The affected parties must be heard beforehand.

3. If the appeal is resolved by settlement, withdrawal, or acknowledgment, or becomes irrelevant, it shall be dismissed from the record.

1. An appeal may be lodged against decisions on appeals made by the Church Council or the Appeals and Complaints Commission.

1. Appeals Instances are

1. The Appeals and Complaint Commission of the Regional Church in cases of complaints against appeal decisions made by the Church Council

2. The Administrative Court for complaints against appeal decisions made by the Appeals and Complaint Commission of the Regional Church

1. With the complaint, violations of the law, as well as incorrect or incomplete determination of the facts, can be asserted.

2. Legal violations are particularly deemed to include

1. the incorrect application or non-application of a legal provision or a generally recognized legal principle

2. the incorrect legal assessment of a fact

3. the abuse or overstepping of discretionary power

4. the disregard of essential procedural rules

1. The appeal must be submitted in writing within 30 days from the issuance of the contested decision, attached or specifically referenced, to the appellate authority, signed and in duplicate. The appeal must include a petition and a statement of reasons, along with the specification of evidence.

1. New claims are not permissible before the appeal instance.

2. The parties may bring forward new facts insofar as this is necessitated by the contested decision.

1. The Appeals and Complaints Commission, as the appellate body, may not exceed the requests of the appellant or amend the contested decision to their detriment.

1. The supervisory complaint may be filed by anyone who is affected by an unjustified refusal, neglect, or inadequate performance of a prescribed official duty, an abuse of official authority, or an arbitrary exercise of powers.

1. The Supervisory Commission of the Parish decides in the first instance on supervisory complaints concerning the administrative and organizational activities of pastors, male and female, deacons, or deaconesses.

2. The Church Board is responsible for supervisory complaints against its other members and against the personnel employed by the Parish.

3. The Church Council decides in the first instance on supervisory complaints against the activities of Church Boards and, in principle, on supervisory complaints against the activities of cantonal church offices or appointees. If a member of the Church Council concurrently assumes a cantonal church office, the oversight of the corresponding office falls to the remaining members of the Church Council, who shall form a special supervisory commission for this purpose. Supervisory complaints against all employees of the respective cantonal church office must be addressed to this church council supervisory commission.

4. The Church Council decides on supervisory complaints against the conduct of pastors, male and female, deacons, or deaconesses only from a spiritual-theological perspective.

5. The Church Council decides on supervisory complaints against supervisory commissions.

1. The supervisory complaint is not subject to any deadline.

2. It must be submitted in writing.

1. Facts that necessitate an official intervention against an authority in the public interest may be the subject of a report.

2. A report may be submitted by anyone at any time to the supervisory authority as defined in § 38 of this regulation.

3. The person who files a report is not thereby involved in the proceedings.

1. The Supervisory Commission may, among other measures, order further training or supervision, initiate a reorganization of the duty roster, or issue a reprimand.

2. The Church Council has the same measures at its disposal. In addition, in supervisory complaint proceedings, it can, on its own initiative or at the request of the relevant Supervisory Commission, order salary reductions or suspension of salary increases, or partial or total removal from office.

3. In cases of gross mismanagement by a church administration or persistent non-compliance with imposed measures, the Church Council may order new elections.

4. The church administration, in its function as a supervisory body, may order the same measures as the Church Council.

5. The supervisory bodies must observe the principle of proportionality when determining the type and scope of measures. Measures with implications for salary or those of significant consequence for the affected individuals may only be issued with prior warning.

1. The appeal and complaint procedure is subject to charges.

2. The supervisory complaint procedure is generally free of charge. Under special circumstances, official costs may be imposed on the parties involved.

1. The official costs of the proceedings include the procedural fee and the disbursements.

2. In appeal and complaint proceedings, the losing party generally bears the official costs as well as any party compensation as extrajudicial costs.

1. If justified by the circumstances, the collection of official fees may be waived.

2. Generally, no official fees are collected from parishes and the church council.

1. The procedural fee is to be assessed within the prescribed range according to the effort expended by the authority. Consideration shall be given to the importance of the case, the financial circumstances of the liable party, and the value of the dispute.

2. In particularly complex proceedings, the fee may be increased to at most double the standard rate.

3. For write-offs of significantly advanced cases, no more than half of the judgment fee may be charged.

1. For the appeal procedure, the church council charges a procedural fee ranging from CHF 100 to CHF 500.

2. The Appeals and Complaints Commission charges a procedural fee ranging from CHF 100 to CHF 5,000 for the appeal and complaint procedure.

1. The disbursements include the costs incurred in the proceedings for witness compensation, expert opinions, translations, and other expenses.

2. Minor disbursements such as postage, telephone charges, and the like are not charged.

3. Witnesses are entitled to compensation. This is determined by the loss of earnings, time lost, and expenses. Exceptionally high loss of earnings is not considered.

1. The new appeal deadlines pursuant to § 27 and § 34 are valid for all proceedings from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.