ARTICLE VII
JUDICIAL PROCEDURE ACTIONS INVOLVING GENERAL
OFFICERS
Section 1. Resolution of a Grievance.
When a general officer is one of the ministers involved in a grievance, the procedures
of Article III shall apply, with the following exceptions:
1. In implementing Section 2, the ministers on the arbitration panel shall not be
members of the Executive Board.
2. In implementing Sections 3 and 4, an appeal of the decision of the arbitration
panel shall be to the Executive Board, who shall take the place of the District
Board and whose decision shall be final.
Section 2. Explanatory Note
Note: If at any point in the execution of the steps outlined in the following sections
of this article the accused minister confesses in writing, the matter(s) to
which he/she confessed shall be handled by a District Board Action under Article
IV, except that:
• The Executive Board shall replace the District Board.
• There need be no District (Executive) Board Inquiry in that the accused minister
has already confessed.
• Any appeal of the action taken shall be to the General Board instead of to the
MAC.
Section 3. Investigation of a Complaint.
1. A complaint against any general officer except the General Superintendent shall
be filed with the General Superintendent.
2. If a complaint is received against a general official, the disposition of that matter
shall be handled to its completion under this article, even if the individual
resigns his or her office.
3. The General Superintendent is encouraged to communicate and counsel privately
with a general officer about whom any question has surfaced in an
attempt to resolve the problem.
4. Upon the receipt of a complaint that does not have the required information (see
Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3, the General Superintendent shall inform the
signatories of the need of further appropriate information to meet the requirements.
5. The General Superintendent shall notify the general officer that a complaint has
been received, stating the nature of the complaint.
6. Within thirty (30) days of receiving the complaint, the General Superintendent
shall appoint five (5) members of the General Board, excluding himself, to
serve as an investigative committee. The General Superintendent shall appoint
one of the committee members to serve as chair. The committee shall follow
Article V, Sub-Article B, Section 6 and Article V, Sub-Article B, Section 7,
Paragraphs 2, 3, 4, and 5. (See also Article I, Section 1, Paragraph 9.)
7. A complaint against the General Superintendent shall be filed with the General
Secretary, who shall designate one of the Assistant General Superintendents to
serve as the investigative officer. He shall follow the guidelines given for the
General Superintendent in this section, Paragraphs 1-5. He shall select five (5)
members of the Executive Board to serve as an investigative committee, which
shall follow Article V, Sub-Article B, Section 6 and Article V, Sub-Article B,
Section 7, Paragraphs 2, 3, 4, and 5. (See also Article I, Section 1, Paragraph 9.)
8. At the conclusion of the investigation, the committee shall take one of the following
actions:
(a) Dismiss the complaint and notify the accused minister and the persons who
initiated the complaint.
(b) Refer its findings to the Executive Board for a hearing.
Section 4. Hearing.
1. A hearing for general officers shall follow the procedure in Article V, Sub-
Article C, with the changes as noted in this section.
2. The General Superintendent and the General Secretary shall take the place
of the District Superintendent and District Secretary respectively, and the
Executive Board shall take the place of the District Board.
3. In a hearing of a complaint against the General Superintendent, an Assistant
General Superintendent shall take the place of the District Superintendent.
Consequently, he shall take the place of the General Superintendent in this
article when necessary.
4. In implementing Article V, Sub-Article C, Section 4, Paragraph 2, the charge
or charges shall be given to the General Superintendent.
Section 5. Trial of a General Officer.
If the Executive Board refers the case to a trial, the procedure shall be the same
as in Articles V, Sub-Article D and Article V, Sub-Article F, with the following
changes.
1. The Executive Board shall take the place of the District Board, the General
Superintendent shall take the place of the Regional Presiding Officer, and the
General Secretary shall be the recording secretary.
2. The Executive Board shall select one member to present the evidence at the
trial. This executive representative takes the place of the district representative.
3. The jury shall consist of nine (9) members with two (2) alternates selected from
the General Board by a drawing conducted by the General Secretary. Someone
who has formed an opinion on the case or who has a conflict of interest according
to Article I, Section 1, Paragraph 9 shall not serve on the jury. Members of
the Executive Board and the superintendent of the district of which the officer is
a member shall not serve on the jury. (This paragraph takes the place of Article
V, Sub-Article E.)
4. Only the General Superintendent, General Secretary, the jury and alternates, the
accused officer and his or her counselors, and the executive representative and
his counselors may attend the trial. A witness may attend the trial only while
giving his or her testimony.
5. Counselors may be members of the Executive Board or General Board.
6. In the event the any member of this process becomes unruly, and after being
warned by the General Superintendent persists in being unruly, the General
Superintendent may dismiss him or her from the trial and recommend that
the Executive Board take disciplinary action against him or her. One of the
counselors for the Executive Board shall then present the evidence against the
accused general officer.
7. A general officer who is found guilty may appeal the verdict or sentence in
accordance with Article V, Sub-Article G, Sections 1 and 2, except that the
appeal shall be made to the General Board.
Section 6. Notification.
1. Within thirty (30) days after the conclusion of the trial and appeal process, the
General Secretary shall send a letter to the accused minister stating the verdict.
2. If the accused minister is found not guilty of all charges, the General Secretary
shall upon his or her request send a copy of the letter to every UPCI credentialed
minister in the district of the accused minister, as well as to every UPCI
credentialed minister of the district(s) of the accuser(s), if different.
The above is part of the judicial procedure of the United Pentecostal Church International and is provided for informational purposes.
Page Added February 10, 2007 & Updated March 3, 2024