Abstract

DIJKSTRA, Auke. The position and composition of judicial authorities in Protestant church disciplinary law. In Skriflig (Online) [online]. 2023, vol.57, n.1, pp.1-13. ISSN 2305-0853.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ids.v57i1.2918.

This article discusses the relationship of the position and composition of judicial authorities in the church (disciplinary) law of the Nederlandse Gereformeerde Kerken to the position and composition of judicial authorities in: (1) the church law of the Protestantse Kerk in Nederland and the Gereformeerde Gemeenten and (2) the disciplinary law of lawyers, medics and bankers. The issue of who is authorised to take disciplinary action has been the subject of debate in secular disciplinary law. This article shows that these themes are also relevant to church disciplinary law. There are significant differences between the arrangements in the compared forms of disciplinary law. This article provides an analysis of the similarities and differences. It concludes that the differences can be partly explained, but that from a theological point of view there are also reasons to introduce additional safeguards for a prudent and careful disciplinary procedure in church law. To this end, the article contains a number of recommendations. CONTRIBUTION: This article clarifies the position and composition of judicial authorities in Protestant church disciplinary law and its theological backgrounds, and also provides recommendations from a (disciplinary) comparative law perspective with other groups. These recommendations are relevant to church law practice

Keywords : Church discipline; disciplinary colleges; church law comparison; right to a fair process; recommendations.

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