SCHEDULE 3 Church Representation Rules
Part V House of Laity of General Synod
F135
(1)
The House of Laity of the General Synod shall consist of—
(a)
the members elected by the diocesan electors of each diocese as hereinafter provided;
(b)
F2two members chosen by and from the members of religious communities having their mother house in either province in such manner as may be provided by a resolution of the General Synod;
(c)
such ex-officio and co-opted members as are hereinafter provided.
F3(d)
not less than three nor more than four members elected or chosen in such manner as may be determined by F4the Armed Forces Synod as soon as practicable after any dissolution of the General Synod, being actual communicants, provided that the total number of persons elected or chosen to serve on the General Synod by virtue of this sub-paragraph, paragraph 1(d) of the provisions relating to the Convocation of Canterbury of Canon H 2 and paragraph 1(bb) of Canon H 3 shall not exceed seven.
F5F6(2)
For the purposes of this Part of these rules the diocese in Europe shall be deemed to be a diocese in the province of Canterbury.
F6(3)
For the purposes of this Part of these rules, the diocesan electors of a diocese F7other than the diocese in Europe shall be the members of the houses of laity of all the deanery synods in the diocese other than F8. . .:
F9(a)
persons co-opted to the deanery synod under rule 24(7); or
(b)
persons who are lay members of a religious community with separate representation in the General Synod under paragraph (1)(b) of this rule.
. . . F10
F11F6(4)
The diocesan electors of the diocese in Europe shall be such number of persons elected by the annual meetings of the chaplaincies in the said diocese as may be determined by the bishop’s council and standing committee of the said diocese, and any lay person who is:
(b)
of eighteen years or upwards, and
(c)
a person whose name is entered on the electoral roll of such a chaplaincy,
shall be qualified for election as a diocesan elector by the annual meeting of that chaplaincy.
F14F6(5)
The qualifying date for lay members of religious communities under paragraph (1)(b) of this rule and for diocesan electors under paragraphs F15(3) and (4) of this rule shall be 6.00 a.m. on the date of the dissolution of the General Synod, save that when a casual vacancy is being filled, the qualifying date shall be 6.00 a.m. on the date on which the nomination papers are issued.
F6(6)
The register of lay electors shall be open to inspection at the diocesan office and any errors and omissions in the list may be corrected until the close of nominations. Thereafter no names may be added or removed until the declaration of the result of the election and those persons whose names are entered in the register shall be the qualified electors entitled to vote in that election.
Elections of Members Number of Elected Members
F1636
F17(1)
The total number of members directly elected and specially elected from the dioceses in the Province shall not exceed F18136 for Canterbury and F1859 for York and no diocese shall have fewer than three directly elected members (except F19... the diocese of Sodor and Man which shall elect one member). F20The representatives of the religious communities referred to in rule 35(1)(b), the elected or chosen persons referred to in rule 35(1)(d), ex officio and co-opted members (as defined in rule F2142) shall be additional to the said total number. In this rule the term “specially elected” means F22... the representatives of the Channel Islands elected in accordance with the Channel Islands (Representation) Measure 1931 and such persons shall be included in the said total number.
F23(2)
The total number of members to be elected by the diocesan electors of all the dioceses shall be fixed by resolution of the General Synod not later than the last day of F24February in the fifth year after the last preceding election of the house of Laity (but subject as hereinafter provided), and the resolution shall apportion the number so fixed to the Provinces of Canterbury and York in a proportion of F2470 to 30 or as nearly as possible thereto and shall divide the number among the dioceses F25(using such divisor method as may from time to time be specified for the purpose by the Business Committee of the General Synod) so that the number of members to be elected by the several dioceses are as nearly as possible proportionate to the total number of names F24on the rolls of the parishes of the diocese in question.
F26(3)
The secretary of each diocesan synod shall, not later than the 1st August in the fourth year after the last preceding election of the House of Laity, certify to the Clerk to the General Synod the total number of names on the rolls of the parishes of the diocese.
F27(3)
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F28(3A)
The secretary of each diocesan synod shall, no later than 30 November 2019, certify to the Clerk to the General Synod the total number of names on mission initiative rolls (within the meaning given in rule 29A) maintained in the diocese, as notified to the secretary under rule 29A(7)(b).
(3B)
For the purposes of paragraph (3A), if a mission initiative is in more than one diocese, the number of names on the mission initiative roll for that initiative is to be divided equally between each diocese (but if it is not so divisible without remainder, the remainder is to be ignored); and the reference to the number of names on the mission initiative roll maintained in the diocese for that initiative is to be construed accordingly.
F23(4)
The number of members of the House of Laity to be elected by each diocese, when fixed by the General Synod as aforesaid, shall forthwith be certified to the secretaries of the diocesan synods.
F23(5)
If the General Synod is at any time dissolved F29...before the fixing of numbers under this rule by the General Synod F29..., the General Synod or the Presidents thereof may give directions with respect to the fixing and certifying of the numbers of members to be elected to the House of Laity by each diocese, and the directions may provide that the numbers so fixed and certified on the last previous occasion shall be deemed to have been fixed and certified for the purpose of the election following the dissolution, and the directions may, if the dissolution is known to be impending, be given before it occurs.
Qualification of Elected Members
F3037
F31(1)
Subject to the provisions of rule 1(3) and of F32rule 46A, a lay person shall be qualified for election for any diocese by the diocesan electors of the diocese if—
(a)
(b)
he is of eighteen years of age on the date of the dissolution of the General Synod F36or, when a casual vacancy is being filled on the date on which the nomination papers are issued in accordance with rule 39(3);
(c)
his name is at 6.00 a.m. on the date of dissolution of the General Synod F37or, when a casual vacancy is being filled, on the date on which the nomination papers are issued in accordance with rule 39(3) entered on the roll of any parish in the diocese or F38, in the case of a cathedral which is not a parish church, on the community roll or, in the case of Westminster Abbey, St George’s Chapel, Windsor and the cathedral church of Christ in Oxford is a person who at any time within the period of two months beginning one month immediately before that date is declared by the dean of the cathedral church to be a habitual worshipper at that cathedral church.
F39(1A)
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F40(2)
F41. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F42F43(3)
Where a diocese is divided into two or more areas in accordance with rule F4438(2), any person who under this rule is qualified for election for the diocese shall be qualified for election for any such area whether or not the parish on whose roll his name is entered, or the cathedral church F45on whose community roll his name is entered, is situated in that area, but no person shall be nominated for more than one such area at the same time.
Electoral Areas
F4638
(1)
Subject to any division of a diocese under this rule every diocese shall be an electoral area for the purposes of elections to the House of Laity.
(2)
So far as is consistent with any rule made under the Standing Orders of the General Synod under F47rule 39(8)F48and subject to paragraph (3) of this rule a diocesan synod may, for the purposes of any election, divide a diocese into two or more areas, and apportion the number of members of the House of Laity to be elected for the diocese among such areas, and the election shall be conducted in each area as if such area were a separate diocese. Where a diocese is so divided, a diocesan elector who is a representative of the laity shall vote in the area to which the body by which he was elected belongs, and a diocesan elector who is not a representative of the laity shall vote in such area as the diocesan synod may decide. Any such division shall remain in force until it is revoked by the diocesan synod.
F49(3)
If a diocesan synod decides to divide the diocese into two or more areas in pursuance of this rule the division shall be made in such manner that the number of members to be elected in any such area will be not less than three.
Conduct of Elections
F5039
(1)
Subject to any directions by the General Synod or the Presidents thereof, elections to the House of Laity shall be carried out during the three months immediately following any dissolution of the General Synod and shall be so carried out in each each diocese during such period within the said three months as shall be fixed by the archbishops of Canterbury and York.
(2)
The presiding officer in each diocese or each area of a diocese shall be the registrar of the diocese or a person appointed by him F51with the approval of the registrar of the province, except that, if the said registrar is a candidate in the election, the presiding officer shall be a person appointed by the registrar of the province. The expenses of the elections shall be paid out of diocesan funds.
F52(2A)
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F53(3)
On receipt of the names and addresses of the qualified electors from the diocesan electoral registration officer F54(which shall, in the case of each elector who has notified the diocesan electoral registration officer that he wishes to receive and send nomination papers and receive election addresses by electronic mail, include the electronic mail address which the elector has authorised for those purposes), the presiding officer shall ensure that in respect of the election—
(i)
those persons are sent or given nomination papers F55(which, in the case of a person who has authorised the use of an electronic mail address, shall be sent to that address); and
(ii)
only such persons are sent or given voting papers at the address entered against their names in the register of electors F56or at some other address notified in writing to the presiding officer by the person concerned before the close of nominations.
The presiding officer shall also send nomination papers to any other person who requests them F57(and, if the person making the request authorises the use of an electronic mail address, the papers shall be sent to that address).
F58(3)
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F58(3A)
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F58(3B)
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F58(4)
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F58(5)
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F58(6)
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F59(4)
Every candidate must be nominated and seconded by diocesan electors qualified to vote in the area in which the candidate is seeking to be elected. All nominations shall be in writing, shall include the year of the candidate’s birth F60and a statement as to whether the candidate F61has previously served as a member of the House of Laity and, if so, as to the dates of the candidate’s previous service and shall be delivered either by post F62as an attachment to electronic mail, by facsimile transmission or in person to the presiding officer of the area, together with evidence of the candidate’s consent to serve, within such period, being a period of not less than twenty-eight days F63ending on such date as may be specified by the presiding officerF64....
(5)
It shall be the duty of the presiding officer—
(a)
to scrutinise nomination papers as soon as they have been lodged and he shall, without delay, inform the candidate concerned whether the nomination is valid.Where the nomination is invalid the presiding officer shall give his reasons for so ruling and if, by the close of the nomination period, no valid nomination is received, the candidate shall be excluded from the election;
(b)
to supply free of charge to a duly nominated candidate in the election one copy of the names and addresses of the qualified electors F65(including, if an elector has authorised the use of an electronic mail address, that address) within seven days of receiving his written request.
(6)
If any of the candidates so request the presiding officer shall despatch to every elector election addresses from those candidates being not more than one sheet of A4 paper. F66One copy of the address shall be provided by the candidates at their own expense and be delivered F67or sent by electronic mail to the presiding officer by such date as he shall determine being not less than seven days after the close of nominations. The presiding officer shall be under no obligation to despatch to electors election addresses which are received after the due date or which are not in the prescribed form.
F68(6A)
It shall be the duty of the presiding officer, before voting papers are issued, to post or cause to be posted on the website of the diocese concerned copies of all election addresses received by the due date in the prescribed form, together with a list of all the candidates.
(7)
It shall be the duty of the presiding officer in any election under these rules to seek to ensure that during the period beginning with the date on which nominations are invited and ending on the last date for the return of voting papers, no papers or other literature except election addresses prepared by the candidates under paragraph 6 of this rule shall be circulated to the electors by him or by or under authority of the diocesan synod or the deanery synod or distributed at a synod meeting which in his opinion are likely to prejudice the election. The rural dean and the lay chairman and secretary of the deanery synod shall also be under a duty to seek to ensure that during the election period no papers or other literature form part of an official circulation or are distributed at a synod meeting which in the opinion of any of them are likely to prejudice the election.
(8)
Subject to rule 51, if more candidates are nominated for any area than there are seats to be filled, the election shall be conducted by voting papers by the method of the single transferable vote under rules to be made from time to time as provided by the Standing Orders of the General Synod.Every voting paper, which shall include the year of birth of each candidate F69and a statement as to whether the candidate is seeking re-election and, if so, as to the dates of the candidate’s previous service, shall be marked and signed on the reverse thereof by the elector and shall be returnable to the presiding officer within such period, being a period of not less than twenty-one days after the date on which the voting paper is issued, as that officer may specify, provided that a voting paper sent by facscimile transmission shall not be counted as a valid vote.
(9)
A candidate or a person nominated by him has the right to be present at the counting of the votes in order to scrutinise the count but shall take no part in it. The presiding officer shall give not less than seven days notice in writing to each candidate of the time and place at which the votes are to be counted.
(10)
Where within seven days of a count being completed the presiding officer is of the opinion that a recount should take place because of a possible irregularity or inaccuracy in the count, he may, with the concurrence of the registrar of the province, order such a recount and shall give notice in writing to each candidate of the time and place at which the votes are to be recounted.
(11)
A full return of the result of any election and of the result sheet shall be sent by the presiding officer within four working days of the declaration of the result to every F70in the election, the Clerk to the General Synod and an election scrutineer appointed by the Business Committee of the General Synod. The scrutineer shall have power within ten days of the declaration of the result to order a recount of the voting papers if in his opinion this might be material to the result of the election.
F71(12)
The full return of the result and the result sheet shall, until the end of the first group of sessions of the new Synod—
(a)
in the case of an election in a diocese or part of a diocese, be displayed in the diocesan office, posted on the diocese’s website and displayed at the General Synod Office;
(b)
in the case of any other election, be displayed at the General Synod Office and posted on the Church of England website.
F72F73(13)
The presiding officer in each area shall ensure that the valid voting papers received by him for the purposes of any election to the House of Laity are preserved for a period of not less than two years beginning with the date of the election.
F74F7540
(1)
Rules defining the duties to be undertaken by the presiding officers in connection with elections to the House of Laity shall be prepared by the provincial registrars acting jointly, but no such rules shall have effect unless approved by the F76F77lay members of the Business Committee of the General Synod.
(2)
A presiding officer shall be entitled to such fees for the performance by him of the duties aforesaid as may be specified in any order for the time being in force made under F78. . . F79the Ecclesiastical Fees Measure 1986; and where with the prior agreement in writing of the bishop’s council and standing committee the presiding officer or any other person performs any other duties in connection with elections to the House of Laity he shall be entitled to such fees as may be specified in the agreement.
F80. . . F81Term of Office of membership of General Synod and other bodies
F8241
The term of office of elected members of the House of Laity F83, of the members elected or chosen under rule 35(1)(d) above and of members chosen by the lay members of religious communities shall be for the lifetime of the General Synod for which they are elected or chosen, but without prejudice to their acting under Article 3(4) of the Constitution during the period of the dissolution of the General Synod F84. . . F85or to their continuing to beex-officio members of other bodies constituted under these rules during that period.
Ex-officio and Co-opted Members of the House of Laity
F8642
(1)
The following persons, if they are not in Holy Orders, shall be ex-officio members of the House of Laity;—
(a)
the Dean of the Arches and Auditor;
F87(b)
the Vicar-General of the Province of Canterbury;
F88(c)
the Vicar-General of the Province of York;
F88(d)
the three Church Estate Commissioners;
F88(e)
the Chairman of the Central Board of Finance.
(2)
The House of Laity shall have power to co-opt persons who are F92. . . F93actual lay communicantsof F94eighteen years or upwards to be members of the House of Laity:
Provided that:—
(a)
the co-opted members shall not at any time exceed five in number; and,
(b)
no person shall be qualified to become a co-opted member unless not less than two-thirds of the members of the Standing Committee of the House of Laity shall have first consented to his being co-opted, either at a meeting of the Standing Committee or in writing.
(3)
Except in regard to their appointment, the ex-officio and co-opted members shall have the same rights and be subject to the same rules and regulations as elected members:
(4)
Co-opted members shall continue to be members of the House of Laity until the next dissolution of the General Synod, but without prejudice to their acting under Article 3(4) of the Constitution during the period of the dissolution F97or to their continuing to be ex-officio members of other bodies constituted under these rules during that period:
Provided that the House of Laity may, in the case of any co-opted member, fix a shorter period of membership.
(5)
The House of Laity may make standing orders for regulating the procedure of and incidental to the appointment of co-opted members and otherwise for carrying this rule into effect.