Bills  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |... 

The following draft Bill will be debated during this years General Synod. For further information on amendments and passage through General Synod please contact the General Synod Press Officer.

BILL NO 11

REV CANON BJ COURTNEY
REV CANON PF PATTERSON

Bill

To amend Chapter I of the Constitution.

WHEREAS it is expedient to conduct a continuing review of the size of the House of Representatives;

AND WHEREAS it is desirable that the principles upon which the clerical and lay representatives to the General Synod to represent the several Dioceses and United Dioceses of the Church of Ireland be set out in the Constitution of the Church of Ireland;

AND WHEREAS it is desirable that the table contained in Section 4 (2) of Part 1 of Chapter I of the said Constitution be amended in accordance with such continuing review;

AND WHEREAS it is desirable to review the number of clerical and lay representatives returned to the General Synod to represent the several Dioceses and United Dioceses of the Church of Ireland be conducted at least every third triennium;

AND WHEREAS it is desirable to specify the method of election to be utilised in returning the said clerical and lay representatives to the General Synod;

AND WHEREAS for such purposes it is necessary to amend Chapter I of the Constitution;

BE IT ENACTED by the Archbishops and Bishops, and the Clergy and Laity of the Church of Ireland in General Synod assembled in Dublin in the year 2002, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1. Section 4 (1) of Part 1 of Chapter I of the Constitution is hereby amended by deleting the said provision and substituting the following therefor:

1. The House of Representatives shall consist of representatives of the clergy and of the laity to be elected as hereinafter provided in the year 2005 and triennially thereafter.
   
   
2. The number of clerical representatives to be returned to the General Synod by each Diocese or United Dioceses shall be in the proportion of one representative to every two cures, where cure shall have the meaning as contained in section 37 of Part V of Chapter 6 of the Constitution, such clergy neither being in receipt of a retiring annuity under provisions of Chapter XIV, nor having attained the age of seventy four years, and notwithstanding any vacancy in any benefice within the Diocese or United Dioceses. An additional representative shall be returned for any remaining cure.
   
   
3. For the purpose of 1 (b) the number of cures shall, in the year 2005 and at every subsequent review carried out in accordance with section 4 (1) (e), be ascertained on the 1 January of the review year.
   
   
4. The number of lay representatives shall be to the clergy in the proportion of 2:1.
   
   
5. A review of the number of representative both clerical and lay to be returned by each Diocese or United Dioceses to the General Synod shall be conducted on the basis of the principles hereinbefore set out at least every third triennium, in a manner determined by the Honorary Secretaries of the General Synod, provided that the number of representatives of the clergy to be returned by any Diocese or United Dioceses shall not fall below 4.

2. Section 4 (2) of Part 1 of Chapter I of the Constitution is hereby amended by deleting the table contained therein and substituting therefor in the year 2005 and at every subsequent review carried out under 1 (e) a table showing the number of representatives both clerical and lay returned to represent in the General Synod each Diocese or United Dioceses as calculated in accordance with principles set out in Section 4 (1)(b).
   
   
3. Section 4 Part 1 of Chapter I of the Constitution be further amended by adding the following as subsection (6):
   Representatives to General Synod both clerical and lay shall be elected by each Diocesan Synod on the system of Proportional Representation by means of the single transferable vote in accordance with regulations prescribed from time to time by the Standing Committee of the General Synod.
   
   
4. For section 6 of Part 1 of Chapter I of the Constitution there shall be substituted the following section:
   
   6. Every beneficed or licensed clergyman of the Church of Ireland who is not in receipt of a retiring annuity under the provisions of Chapter XIV, and who has not on 1 January preceding the election attained the age of seventy four years, shall be qualified to be elected as a clerical representative or supplemental clerical representative whether resident or not in the diocese for which the election is being held.

Bills  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |... 

Top of page