19 Jul GS 2022 art 64

GS 2022 Article 64 – Appeal against RSE 2019 Art. 9

1.   Material

• 1.1    Appeal of the Toronto-Bethel CanRC against RSE 2019 Art. 9 (8.6.3.1) which contains the decision to declare admissible a late submission by the Orangeville CanRC. 

2.   Admissibility

• 2.1    The appeal was declared admissible.

3.   Decision

Synod decided:

• 3.1    To deny the appeal of the Toronto-Bethel CanRC against RSE 2019 Art. 9.

4.   Grounds

• 4.1    By including the word “ordinarily” in their regulation (D) concerning appeals, the RSE regulations allow for exceptions to the submission date of material while at the same time guarding against the danger of setting a precedent of admitting late submissions as a “common practice”.
• 4.2    There are no RSE regulations concerning the treatment of late submissions, the distinction between “late” and “extremely late” submissions, the requirement to give notice of the intention to send a late submission, or the need to respect the busy schedules of the men who volunteer their time to serve as delegates to Regional Synod.
• 4.3    As a deliberative major assembly, the delegates of RSE have the right to decide whether to receive late or even extremely late submissions from the churches: 
  • 4.3.1   RSE 2019 Art. 9 Cons. 1 indicates that the question of whether the delegates had time to properly deal with the appeal was dealt with by the delegates who were present;
  • 4.3.2   RSE 2019 Art. 9 Cons. 2-3 indicate that the delegates of RSE 2019 received and accepted the reasons that Orangeville had provided.