- 1927-05-00 —
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada drew up and published a 'Declaration of Trust' and 'By-laws of the National Spiritual Assembly'. [BW2:89, BW10:180]
- For text see BW2:90–8.
- The Guardian described it as the Bahá'í 'national constitution' heralding 'the formation of the constitution of the future Bahá'í World Community'. [GPB335; PP302–3]
- The drafting was largely the work of Horace Holley with assistance from the lawyer Mountfort Mills. [SBR234]
- In subsequent years the National Assemblies of India and Burma, of Egypt, Iraq, Persian and the British Isles all adopted this example almost verbatim. [UD101, BA134-5, SETPE1p145-6]
- 1931-11-00 —
The New York Bahá'í community drafted the by-laws of a Bahá'í local assembly. [GPB335]
- These by-laws became the pattern for all local Bahá'í constitutions throughout the world. [BBRSM122; GPB335; PP303]
- 1934-04-26 —
The first national convention of the Bahá'ís of Iran was held in Tehran over a period of eight days. The social and religious affairs of the national community prior to this time had been directed by the former Central Assembly of Tehran. Following the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly, the by-laws of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States were translated into Persian and adopted with modifications. Also, national committees were appointed to help the National Spiritual Assembly with specific tasks.
[GPB333; BW6p22-23; WOB99; BAHAISM v. The Bahai Community in Iran by V. Rafati]
- ARG83, 118 (photo) says that 1933 was the date of the first National Convention.
- BW6p94 says that 1935 was the date of the first National Convention.
- 1991-02-05 —
The highest legal authority in Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court, overturned the decisions of a number of lower courts that had refused to register the by-laws of a Local Spiritual Assembly on the grounds that the authority granted to the National Spiritual Assembly in the document violated the legal principle requiring the autonomy of all legally incorporated associations.
- The case was first brought before the District Court of Tübingen when the legal administrator refused to register the Local Assembly on the 8th of December, 1983. The decision was appealed on the 5th of May 1985 to the High State Court in Sturrgart and rejected on the 27th of January 1986. News of the decision caused other jurisdictions to demand that local assemblies amend their By-Laws or face cancellation of their existing incorporation. The National Spiritual Assembly was in danger of the same fate. An appeal was submitted in March of 1986.
- The ruling affirmed Bahá'í community, by its right as a recognized religion, recognized by public knowledge and by the testimony of scholars of comparative religion, had the right to a legal identity. [AWH87]
- See Ridván Message 1991.
- For complete details of the case see Mess86-01p206-235.
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