Permanent Judicial Commission

“Church discipline is the church’s exercise of authority given by Christ.” (Book of Order, D-1.0101)

The Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) of the Synod of the Northeast receives remedial complaints that are filed concerning a presbytery or appeals from presbytery PJC decisions. They determine whether to approve or decline requests for stays of enforcement and hold pre-trial conferences, trials and appeal hearings. Members serve on the PJC for one term of six years.

View PJC decisions and access the resource directory. »

Current members of the Permanent Judicial Commission

Resources

If you need to file anything with the Synod PJC, it is important to follow these instructions:

Document Formats

All documents submitted to, and sent by, the PJC shall be submitted in PDF format and, where applicable, shall be electronically signed. These documents shall be original electronic documents, not scanned versions of paper copies, unless an electronic version of the document cannot be obtained with a reasonable amount of effort. If a signature is required on a document and electronic signing is not available, the original electronic (unsigned) document may be accompanied by a scanned version of the signed paper document.

Means of Delivery

All documents shall be delivered via email or made available through secure websites, such as FTP, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc., their location to be specified through email messages. Paper copies of documents are sent through regular USPS mail, but not through certified mail, except where required by the Rules of Discipline (filing of complaints and appeals, decisions).* The sending of paper documents through certified mail (or equivalent service) in those cases does not replace the requirement to transmit the electronic copies.

Channels of Communication

Each party in cases before, or coming before, the PJC shall provide the Office of the Stated Clerk with at least one, but no more than three, email addresses for all communication with the party.
All correspondence to the PJC shall be directed to the Office of the Stated Clerk, with copies to the parties in the case at all times. The Office of the Stated Clerk shall forward all correspondence and documents directed to the PJC to the PJC Executive Committee within two business days. Correspondence from the PJC shall be sent by the Office of the Stated Clerk with BCC to the Executive Committee.

* D-6.0301, D-7.0402c, D-8.0202f, D-8.0404c, D-11.0403g, D-13.0202f, D-13.0404e

For a downloadable version of these communication rules click here (coming soon).

Synod PJC Cases