71 Blackburn Road
Renfrew, Ontario
K7V 3Z9
613-433-8227
rev@magma.ca
September 17, 2010

Nora Sanders
General Secretary
The United Church of Canada
3250 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M8X 2Y4

Nora

The General Council approved Website Posting of Minutes; Window for Appeal (GS 16) [appended].

Record of Proceedings 2009 is now easily found on the internet though the draft minutes and approved minutes of the executive/sub-executive and of the other referenced courts with their respective executives/sub-executives are either not found or, at least, not easily found on the internet. Subsequent to the release of the Manual and Record of Proceedings 2009 the background to GS 16 [appended] implies that these will be posted and the revised bylaw sections 092.1 {Manual 093}, 076(d) [appended] respectively require these to be posted or reference these in determining the window for appeal.

Please advise when and/or at what internet address(es) the referenced draft minutes and approved minutes will be posted.

Also related, I would hope deletion of the definition of "Decision"

"Decision" means any disposition of a matter by a Court, or by a body authorized to act on behalf of the Court. [appended]

and replacement with

076 Appeals.
(a) An appeal may be made only against any decision, determination, or other disposition of a matter, by a Court, by a body authorized to act by these By-Laws, or by a body authorized to act on behalf of a Court... [appended]

does not lose the intent expressed by previously removing "by motion"

"Decision" means any disposition of a matter by a Court, or by a body authorized to act on behalf of the Court, by motion. [Manual 2004 bylaw section 001]

to recognize that there were instances where the failure or refusal of a court or body authorized to act to make a decision was also a "decision". [NB6 assigned to Commission B, rop 2003 pp55, 94, 186, 815 appended]

Don Anderson
__________

Website Posting of Minutes; Window for Appeal (GS 16)
Motion: John Young/George Thurlow GC 40 2009 - 133
That the 40th General Council 2009 adopt the policy that: Draft minutes of meetings of Church Courts other than those within the Pastoral Charge, and their Executives or Sub-Executives, and Decisions made by Commissions appointed by those bodies, be posted on the website for that Court, where there is such a website, when they are distributed to the members of the Court;

and that:

Approved changes to the draft minutes of meetings of Church Courts other than those within the Pastoral Charge, and their Executives or Sub-Executives, be posted on the website for that Court, where there is such a website, following approval;

and that:

Where the communication of a Decision is accomplished by the distribution of minutes, the time limit for giving notice of Appeal begin to run on the earlier of:
• fifteen (15) days after the draft minutes of the Court making the Decision have been distributed in the normal manner, where there is no change in the minute of the Decision as subsequently approved;
• fifteen (15) days after the approved changes to the draft minutes of the Court making the Decision have been distributed in the normal manner, where there is a change in the minute of the Decision from the draft minutes.

and that a new section be added to the By-Laws, and subsection 076(d) be changed, to reflect this policy, as follows:

092.1 Web-Site Posting of Minutes. Draft minutes of meetings of Church Courts other than those within the Pastoral Charge, and their Executives or Sub-Executives, and Decisions made by Commissions appointed by those bodies, shall be posted on the website for that Court, where there is such a website, when they are distributed to the members of the Court. Approved changes to the draft minutes of meetings of Church Courts other than those within the Pastoral Charge, and their Executives or Sub-Executives, shall be posted on the website for that Court, where there is such a website, following approval.

076 Appeals.
…
(d) Notice of Appeal. Notice of Appeal must be given in accordance with section 003 to the Secretary of the Court to which it is directed, within thirty (30) days after the Decision of the lower Court has been communicated. A Decision shall be deemed to have been communicated to a person or Court eligible to appeal on the earlier of:
i. the date on which notice is deemed to have been received in accordance with section 003; and
ii. fifteen (15) days after the draft minutes of the Court making the Decision have been distributed in the normal manner, where there is no change in the minute of the Decision as subsequently approved; and
iii. fifteen (15) days after the approved changes to the draft minutes of the Court making the Decision have been distributed in the normal manner, where there is a change in the minute of the Decision from the draft minutes.
…
Carried [rop 2009, pp226-227]
__________

Background
Whereas subsection 076(a) of the By-Laws provides that a person or Court directly affected by a Decision may make an Appeal against that Decision;

And whereas subsection 076(d) requires that a notice of Appeal must be given within thirty (30) days after the Decision has been communicated; where the communication is accomplished by the distribution of minutes, and where notice is not already given to a person or Court in accordance with section 003, that time limit begins to run fifteen (15) days after the minutes of the Court making the Decision have been distributed in the normal manner;

And whereas a person or Court that is arguably directly affected by the Decision may not receive actual notice of the Decision or be among those to whom the minutes are distributed;

And whereas the wide distribution of minutes of Church Courts lends greater accountability and transparency to the process of making Decisions within the United Church; [rop 2009, p348]
__________

Right of Appeal (GS 15)
Motion: John Young/George Thurlow GC 40 2009 - 132
That the 40th General Council 2009 adopt the policy that there is a right of appeal in respect of any decision, determination, or other disposition of a matter, by a Court, by a body authorized to act by the By-Laws, or by a body authorized to act on behalf of a Court, with certain named exceptions, and that the terms “Appeal” and “Decision” be deleted from the definitions in section 001 of the By-Laws, and section 076 of the By-Laws be changed to reflect this policy, as follows:

001 In these By-Laws:
…
"Appeal" means a formal request for reconsideration of a Decision made by a Court or a Court-appointed Formal Hearing, and includes the process leading to that request.
…
"Decision" means any disposition of a matter by a Court, or by a body authorized to act on behalf of the Court.

076 Appeals.
(a) An Appeal appeal may be made only against a Decision any decision, determination, or other disposition of a matter, by a Court, by a body authorized to act by these By-Laws, or by a body authorized to act on behalf of a Court, or against a ruling of the General Secretary of the General Council, with the following exceptions:
i. decisions by a Court or other authorized body in its legislative (policymaking) capacity, unless the Court has acted ultra vires;
ii. decisions specified in subsection 071(d), section 077 and section 549 not to be subject to appeal.
(b) An Appeal appeal may be made only by a person or a Court directly affected by the Decision decision, determination, other disposition of a matter, or ruling. In the case of a Decision decision made by a Formal Hearing Committee, an Appeal appeal may be made only by a party to the Formal Hearing.
[subsequent subsections to be re-lettered]
Carried [rop 2009, p226]
__________

NB6 assigned to Commission B
Whereas justice is an integral part of our church, and
Whereas the appeal process within The Manual has deficiencies, and
Whereas only a decision by a formal hearing/court or ruling by the General Secretary may be appeal, and
Whereas a decision "means any disposition of a matter by a Court, or by a body authorized to act on behalf of the Court, by motion", and
Whereas often minutes are not available to the appellant and by default the appeal fails to meet the grounds for an appeal; and
Whereas the refusal of a court to make a decision is not appealable; and
Whereas within the courts improper use of ruling as a decision is not appealable to another court, and
Whereas an appeal may be dismissed arbitrarily by citing the appellant is not eligible to appeal

Therefore be it resolved that the Manual Committee address deficiencies in the appeal process. [rop 2003, pp55, 186]

Carried [rop 2003, pp94, 815]