Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1940-2002 (Creation)
Extent
23 cubic feet
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Judicial Council is the highest legal body in The United Methodist Church. It rules on the constitutionality and legality of actions of the General, Jurisdictional, Central and Annual Conferences. It rules on decisions made by presiding bishops on questions of law arising in an Annual Conference. It also rules on whether acts of other official bodies of the denomination conform with the Book of Discipline. It acts on these either on appeal of lower rulings or through requests for declaratory decisions. Only General Conferences, Jurisdictional, Central or Annual Conferences, the Council of Bishops or a general agency can petition the Council.
The Council is composed of nine members and must reflect the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of the United Methodist Church in the United .States. They are elected for eight-year terms by the General Conference from a slate of nominees submitted by the Council of Bishops. The General Conference also elects six lay and six ministerial alternates to serve in the case of a vacancy. Decisions made by the Judicial Council are final.
In 1939 with the merger of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South and the Methodist Protestant Church provision was made in the Constitution for a Judicial Council. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South had such a body in operation since 1934. It served as the model for the Judicial Council of the newly formed Methodist Church. In 1968 with the merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church there was no basic change in the function of the Judicial Council.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The records of the Judicial Council cover both the Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church from 1940 to 2002. The collection is comprised of printed and published decisions, meeting minutes and other administrative material and case files related to various decisions. Case decisions 727 to 734 are not missing, but were originally referred back to another session of the Judicial Council and then renumbered as 736, 737, 738, 740, 741, 742, 750, and 751.
System of arrangement
This collection is arranged by series and subseries.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Denominational agency journals, reports and committee minutes are open to the public unless they have been closed in accordance with requirements specified in the Discipline. Denominational agency staff office records are closed for twenty-five (25) years after creation. Personnel records are closed for at least 75 years. Appeals can be made to the General Commission on Archives and History, P. O. Box 127, Madison, NJ 07940.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Detailed use restrictions relating to our collections can be requested from the office of the archivist at the General Commission on Archives and History. Photocopying is handled by the staff and may be limited in certain instances. Before using any material for publication from this collection a formal request for permission to publish is expected and required.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Records of the Judicial Council, United Methodist Church Archives - GCAH, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the items' call number as that is not a stable descriptor.
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
Prepared by Christopher Grygo, Student Assistant, Jean yrigoyen, Assistant Archivist and L. Dale Patterson, Archivist