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Search for tag "By-laws"

from the chronology

date event locations tags see also
1927 May The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada drew up and published a ‘Declaration of Trust’ and ‘By-laws of the National Spiritual Assembly’. [BW2:89, BW10:180]
  • For text see BW2:90–8.
  • The Guardian described it as the Bahá’í ‘national constitution’ heralding ‘the formation of the constitution of the future Bahá’í World Community’. [GPB335; PP302–3]
  • The drafting was largely the work of Horace Holley with assistance from the lawyer Mountfort Mills. [SBR234]
  • In subsequent years the National Assemblies of India and Burma, of Egypt, Iraq, Persian and the British Isles all adopted this example almost verbatim. [UD101, BA134-5, SETPE1p145-6]
  • United States; Canada National Spiritual Assembly; Horace Holley; Mountfort Mills; Constitutions; By-laws; Recognition; Firsts, Other
    1928 (In the year) The publication of Bahá'í Administration, a collection of communications to the American Bahá'í community from the Guardian between 1922 and 1929. Revisions were published in 1933, 1936, 1941 and 1945. Additional messages and an expanded index was added in 1968. [WOBpv, BAiv]

    "His letters to Bahá’í institutions and to Bahá’ís in general began almost at once, and many will be found in Bahá’í Administration, beginning January 21, 1922. Early or late, his communications were not merely writings, they were the dynamic that moved the Bahá’í world. These letters in effect built the Administrative Order, its most vital features being found there. They taught the Bahá’í Assemblies how to be, how to consult, what their duties were. The book also contains the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws drawn up by the international lawyer Mountfort Mills, carefully reviewed by Shoghi Effendi, and adopted in 1926 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, at this time under one jurisdiction. (Khan, back in America by then. Shoghi Effendi wished all National Spiritual Assemblies to adopt, with necessary local adaptations, this Declaration of Trust and ByLaws, which set forth the character and objectives of Bahá’í communities worldwide." [Cited from AY304]

    Bahai Administration (book); Shoghi Effendi, Writings of; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Publications; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; Declaration of Trust and By-Laws; Mountfort Mills; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Administrative order; Shoghi Effendi, Works of
    1931 Nov The New York Bahá’í community drafted the by-laws of a Bahá’í local assembly. [GPB335]
  • These by-laws became the pattern for all local Bahá’í constitutions throughout the world. [BBRSM122; GPB335; PP303]
  • New York; United States By-laws
    1934 (In the year) The Declaration of Trust was legalized in Egypt as a result of the work of Montfort Mills and 'Abdu'l-Jalíl Bey Sa'ad. This greatly facilitated future transactions with the Government. [BW9p598] Egypt Montfort Mills; Abdul-Jalil Bey Saad; Declaration of Trust and By-Laws
    1934. 26 Apr The first national convention of the Bahá'ís of Iran was held in Tehran over a period of eight days. The social and religious affairs of the national community prior to this time had been directed by the former Central Assembly of Tehran. Following the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly, the by-laws of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States were translated into Persian and adopted with modifications. Also, national committees were appointed to help the National Spiritual Assembly with specific tasks. [GPB333; BW6p22-23; WOB99; BAHAISM v. The Bahai Community in Iran by V. Rafati]
  • ARG83, 118 (photo) says that 1933 was the date of the first National Convention.
  • BW6p94 says that 1935 was the date of the first National Convention.
  • Tihran; Iran By-laws; Conventions, National; Central Assembly of Tehran; National Spiritual Assembly, formation
    1942 25 Jun The passing of 'Abdu'l-Jalíl Bey Sa'ad who was, for many years, the president of the National Spiritual Assembly and a judge in the Civil Courts in Egypt. Through his sustained effort the Declaration of Trust was recognized as valid and legalized in 1934.
  • He made an important contribution in translating into Arabic. Among his accomplishments were The Dawn-Breakers, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, Laws of Personal Status and Rules of Procedure.
  • In 1941 he employed the Declaration of Trust as an instrument to induce the Ministry of Civil Defence to grant permission to build the Hazíratu'l-Quds in Cairo. While supervising this project in the intense heat he fell ill and died suddenly after an operation.
  • Shoghi Effendi appointed him to the rank of Hand of the Cause of God on the day of his passing. [MoC597-599]
  • Egypt Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; Hands appointed posthumously by Shoghi Effendi; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Abdul Jalil Bey Saad; Declaration of Trust and By-Laws; Haziratul-Quds; Dawn-Breakers (book); Esslemont; Arabic language; Translation
    1991. 5 Feb The highest legal authority in Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court, overturned the decisions of a number of lower courts that had refused to register the by-laws of a Local Spiritual Assembly on the grounds that the authority granted to the National Spiritual Assembly in the document violated the legal principle requiring the autonomy of all legally incorporated associations.
  • The case was first brought before the District Court of Tübingen when the legal administrator refused to register the Local Assembly on the 8th of December, 1983. The decision was appealed on the 5th of May 1985 to the High State Court in Sturrgart and rejected on the 27th of January 1986. News of the decision caused other jurisdictions to demand that local assemblies amend their By-Laws or face cancellation of their existing incorporation. The National Spiritual Assembly was in danger of the same fate. An appeal was submitted in March of 1986.
  • The ruling affirmed Bahá'í community, by it’s right as a recognized religion, recognized by public knowledge and by the testimony of scholars of comparative religion, had the right to a legal identity. [AWH87]
  • See Ridván Message 1991.
  • For complete details of the case see Mess86-01p206-235.
  • Tubingen; Germany Local Spiritual Assembly; National Spiritual Assembly; By-laws; Legal recognition

    from the chronology of Canada

    date event locations tags see also
    1927 29 Apr - 3 May The nineteenth National Convention of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada was held at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal, the hotel where 'Abdu'l-Bahá stayed during His visit in 1912. [Bahá'í News No. 17 April, 1927]
  • The Declaration of Trust and By-laws of the National Spiritual Assembly was accepted with its implications for more restricted membership. [OBCC166]
  • The question of race "was discussed at length and with unprecedented frankness". [OBCC90]
  • Edwina Powell spoke on the subject, as she had been asked by Shoghi Effendi. [TMW178]
  • In her address, Sadie Oglesby recalled her conversations with Shoghi Effendi on the subject of race. [TMW178–80]
  • Montreal, QC National Convention; Declaration of Trust and By-laws; Edwina Powell; ; Oglesby
    1927 May The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada drew up and published a ‘Declaration of Trust’ and ‘By-laws of the National Spiritual Assembly’. [BW2:89, BW10:180]
  • For text see BW2:90–8.
  • The Guardian described it as the Bahá’í ‘national constitution’ heralding ‘the formation of the constitution of the future Bahá’í World Community’. [GPB335; PP302–3]
  • The drafting was largely the work of Horace Holley with assistance from the lawyer Mountfort Mills. [SBR234]
  • In subsequent years the National Assemblies of India and Burma, of Egypt, Iraq, Persian and the British Isles all adopted this example almost verbatim. [UD101, BA134-5, SETPE1p145-6]
  • Montreal, QC National Spiritual Assembly; Horace Holley; Mountfort Mills; Constitutions; By-laws; Recognition

    from the main catalogue

    1. Local Spiritual Assembly, The, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 18 (1979-1983) (1986). The institution of the LSA, its significance, and its by-laws. [about]
    2. National Spiritual Assembly, The, by Universal House of Justice and Horace Holley, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 18 (1979-1983) (1986). Includes Holley's brief overview of the nature of an NSA and the history of Bahá`í Temple Unity, NSA by-laws and a list of new NSAs as of 1980-1983. [about]
     
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