Rules of Procedure of the Appeals Commission of the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Zurich

The Appeals Commission consists of

a. the Plenum,

b. the Executive Board,

c. the President,

d. the Vice-President,

e. two Divisions.

Organs

¹ The Appeals Commission shall constitute itself in the first meeting of its plenum no later than September 1st of the election year for a four-year term of office.

² The plenum shall elect the President, the Vice-President, and the Secretary.

³ These three individuals shall form the Executive Board.

⁴ As adjudicating bodies within the meaning of Art. 226 para. 2 of the Church Order, two divisions of three members shall be formed, which shall be under the direction of the President or the Vice-President, respectively.

¹ The plenum is quorate if the majority of the commission members are present. There is a duty to vote. In the event of a tie, the chairperson's vote counts double.

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181.23 Appeals Commission of the Evangelical-Reformed Church of the Canton of Zurich

2 The plenum decides on recusal requests in accordance with § 15 para. 3.

3 The plenum bears subsidiary responsibility for the proper operation of the Appeals Commission.

The Management

a. is responsible for judicial administration, unless it is reserved for another body of the Appeals Commission,

b. supervises the course of business,

c. approves the annual report before it is communicated to the members of the Commission and to the Secretariat of the Church Council for the attention of the Church Synod (Art. 228 para. 4 of the Church Order),

d. decides on the opening of an appeals procedure according to §§ 8f.

1 The President

a. represents the Appeals Commission externally,

b. submits the annual report to the Executive Board,

c. convenes the plenum,

d. forwards a submission, for the handling of which the Appeals Commission

is obviously not competent, to the competent authority,

e. makes urgent procedural and administrative orders, preferably after consultation with the Executive Board, in particular the return of a deficient submission for improvement or urgent interim measures,

f. decides on recusal requests, unless the plenum is competent for them,

g. temporarily assigns a commission member to the Executive Board or to a department to which they do not belong, if there is an urgent need for it, particularly in the event of a longer absence.

2 The President and the Vice-President mutually represent each other in case of impediment.

1 The 1st and 2nd divisions of the Appeals Commission shall handle

the disputes assigned to them with a panel of three members.

2 The adjudicating bodies shall fundamentally operate in accordance

with their constitution as per § 2 para. 5. The Executive Board shall decide on

justified, case-by-case changes to the adjudicating body.

3 The chairperson of the division shall lead the proceedings.

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Secretariat

1 The Secretary

a. manages the secretarial affairs of the bodies of the Appeals Commission, unless another person is entrusted with these tasks,

b. keeps the register, the minutes, the case files, and the archive,

c. prepares the business, drafts the orders, resolutions, and decisions, and issues them,

d. participates in an advisory capacity and has the right to make proposals, unless he/she simultaneously acts in the capacity of a member of the Appeals Commission,

e. will be represented in case of absence by a commission member or, for special reasons, by an external expert designated by the President.

2 The secretarial function in the divisions is exercised

a. by the Secretary, if he/she belongs to the respective division as an elected member of the Appeals Commission,

b. by the Secretary, if he/she is assigned to a division to which he/she does not belong as a commission member, as a fourth person with a secretarial function,

c. by an ordinary member, if paragraph 2 lit. a or b is not applied.

Section 2: Procedure

If an appeal process is opened, the management decides on the preliminary admission or the definitive non-admission.

1 After the preliminary examination in accordance with § 5 para. 1 lit. d and e and the decision to provisionally proceed, the Executive Board alternately assigns a dispute to the 1st or 2nd Division of the Appeals Commission for resolution. The decisive factor is the date of receipt of the appeal.

2 In justified cases, this assignment rotation may be deviated from exceptionally.

1 The Division Chair designates, for each dispute, the legal officer and the person entrusted with secretarial duties, the latter after consultation with the management.

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2 The Division Chair directs the proceedings, in particular the obtaining of consultations, the scheduling of evidence taking, and party hearings.

3 Insofar as a matter has not been previously forwarded to the competent body due to obvious lack of jurisdiction or resolved by a decision not to entertain the appeal, the Division Chair is responsible for the resolution of an appeal due to obvious lack of jurisdiction, withdrawal, or mootness for other reasons.

1 The rapporteur shall submit his or her motion concerning the settlement of the dispute in writing and, as a rule, with a statement of reasons.

2 A co-report may be obtained from other commission members or an expert report from external persons. For special reasons, experts may participate in individual meetings in an advisory capacity.

3 The division shall issue its decision after oral deliberation.

4 Simple disputes that are assessed identically by all members of the division may exceptionally be decided by circular resolution.

1. Orders and decisions shall be drafted and issued by the person with secretarial function based on the report, the instruction, and the oral hearing.

2. Their signing shall be done with the dual signature of the chairperson and the person performing the drafting.

3. For procedural orders, the single signature of the chairperson or the secretary is sufficient.

The secretary ensures that files are created and minutes are kept for each proceeding.

1 The hearings and pronouncements of decisions by the Appeals Commission are public. Deliberations, however, take place in camera, excluding the parties and the public.

2 The public may be excluded in justified cases, particularly where this is necessary to protect important public interests or private interests worthy of protection.

3 Public sessions of the Appeals Commission are announced at least seven days in advance, stating the location, date, and time, at the seat of the Church Council Chancellery.

Decision-

making

Decision-

justification

and Drafting

Minutes and

Files

Publicity

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4 Suitable decisions of the Appeals Commission are published in anonymized form on the website of the Evangelical-Reformed Church.

1 Recusal of Commission Members and Persons Participating in a Recusal

Order is governed by § 5a of the Administrative Justice Act2.5.

2 The President decides on recusal requests.

3 The Plenum decides on contested recusal requests and those against several persons involved in the decision-making process.

1 The collection of costs is governed by Sections 13–16 and Section 65a of the Administrative Justice Act, as well as by the Schedule of Fees of the Administrative Court.

2 Invoicing and payment control are carried out by the Chancellery of the Church Council.

3. Section: Final Provision

Entry into Force

1 AS 66, 334; for reasoning, see FF 2011, 660.

2 LS 175.2.

3 LS 175.252.

4 LS 181.10.

5 Version according to Federal Decree of 29 October 2018 (AS 73, 556; FF2018-11-09). In force

since 1 January 2019.

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