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more than one year old, of his church-membership and dismission, before he shall be admitted as a regular member of that church.

The names of the baptized children of a parent seek ing dismission to another church shall, if such children are members of his household and remove with him and are not themselves communicants, be included in the cer tificate of dismission. The certificate shall be addressed to a particular church, and the fact of the reception of the person or persons named in it shall be promptly com municated to the church which gave it.

115. In like manner, when a minister, licentiate, or candidate, is dismissed from one presbytery to another, the certificate shall be presented to the presbytery to which it is addressed, ordinarily within one year from its date, and the fact of his reception shall be promptly communicated to the presbytery dismissing him.

116. If a church-member, more than two years absent from the place of his ordinary residence and church connections, applies for a certificate of membership, his absence, and the knowledge of the church respecting his demeanor for that time, or its want of information concerning it, shall be distinctly stated in the certificate.

117. Prosecution for an alleged offence shall commence within one year from the time of its alleged commission, or from the date when it becomes known to the judicatory which has jurisdiction thereof.

CHAPTER XIII.

I. CONCERNING JUDICIAL CASES IN PRESBYTERIES AND SYNODS.

118. A presbytery or a synod may elect from the ministers and ruling elders subject to its jurisdiction a Judicial Commission, which shall be composed of not less than seven members for a presbytery and not less than eleven

for a synod, a majority of which members shall be ministers. The electing judicatory may transmit to such Commission any judicial case for hearing and decision.

119. The Commission shall elect from its members a Moderator and a Clerk; and, in the case transmitted to it, shall have the powers prescribed by, and conduct its proceedings according to, the Constitution and rules governing the trial of such cases before the electing judicatory, to which, also, it shall make a report.

120. The quorum of the Commission shall consist of not less than two-thirds of the members elected to it, provided that at least one-half the quorum shall be ministers.

121. The meetings of the Commission shall be held at such times and places as the electing judicatory shall direct, or, if no directions shall be given, then at such times and places as the Commission shall determine.

122. The decision of the Commission, sitting in any case at the same time as the electing judicatory, shall be promptly reported to the judicatory, and shall, from the time of the rendering of the report, be held to be the final judgment of the judicatory. The decision of the Commission, sitting in any case during an interval between the meetings of the electing judicatory, shall, from the time of the announcement of the decision, be held to be the final judgment of the judicatory.

123. The Clerk of the Commission shall keep a full and correct record of the proceedings and decision of the Commission; shall with the Moderator certify in writing such record to be full and correct; and shall forthwith transmit a certified copy of the decision to each party in the case, and file the certified record with the Stated Clerk of the electing judicatory.

124. The Stated Clerk of the electing judicatory, upon the request of the Commission in any case, or upon its failure to report the certified record of such case when called for by the judicatory, shall forthwith report the certified record to the judicatory; and shall preserve it as a part of the records of the same, and shall include it in

the records sent up to the next superior judicatory for review.

II. CONCERNING JUDICIAL CASES IN THE GENERAL

ASSEMBLY.

125. The General Assembly shall elect a Commission, which shall be called "The Permanent Judicial Commission of the General Assembly," and shall be composed of eight ministers and seven ruling elders, of whom not more than two shall belong to the same synod. At the first election fifteen persons shall be elected, five to serve for one year, five for two years, and five for three years, and thereafter five persons shall be elected annually to serve for three years. The terms of the members of the Commission shall begin with the close of the General Assembly at which they are elected. No person having served a full term shall be eligible for re-election to the term next ensuing. Any vacancy may be filled by the General Assembly at any meeting thereof by the election of a person for the unexpired term. The General Assembly may transmit to this Commission any judicial case for hearing and decision.

126. The Commission shall annually elect from its members a moderator and a clerk, and, in the cases transmitted to it, shall have the powers prescribed by, and conduct its proceedings according to, the Constitution and rules governing the trial of such cases before the General Assembly, to which, also, it shall make reports.

127. The quorum of the Commission shall consist of not less than eleven members, of whom at least six shall be ministers.

128. The meetings of the Commission shall be held at such times and places as the General Assembly shall direct, or, if no directions shall be given, then at such times and places as the Commission shall determine.

129. The decision of the Commission in any case shall be held to be the preliminary judgment in that case, and shall be binding upon each party therein until the date

of the final judgment of the General Assembly; provided, that the General Assembly may modify or suspend the preliminary judgment in any case remitted by it for further hearing.

130. The Clerk of the Commission shall keep a full and correct record of the proceedings and preliminary judgment of the Commission in each case transmitted to it; shall with the Moderator certify in writing such record to be full and correct; and shall forthwith transmit a certified copy of the preliminary judgment to each party in the case and file the certified record with the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly.

131. The Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, upon the request of the Commission or upon its failure to report the certified record of any case when called for by the General Assembly, shall forthwith report the certified record to the General Assembly, and shall preserve it as a part of the records of the same.

132. The preliminary judgment in any case may be reviewed by the General Assembly to which it has been reported, and may be affirmed, reversed, modified, suspended, or remitted for further hearing. On such review, if the case be not remitted, the decision of the General Assembly shall be held to be its final judgment. If the case be not reviewed by the General Assembly to which it has been reported, or if it be reviewed and no decision be reached, then at the dissolving of the same the preliminary judgment of the Permanent Judicial Commission shall be held to be the final judgment of the General Assembly. 133. The necessary expenses of the Commission shall be provided for by the General Assembly.

III. CONCERNING NON-JUDICIAL OR ADMINISTRATIVE CASES AND REFERENCES.

134. A presbytery or a synod may transmit to any Judicial Commission elected by it any non-judicial or administrative case founded on complaint, or any reference, or any case arising under chapter xiv. of the Book of

Discipline, entitled "Of Differences Between Judicatories," with such powers as the transmitting judicatory shall confer upon the Commission.

135. The General Assembly may transmit to the Permanent Judicial Commission any non-judicial or administrative case founded on a complaint, or any reference, or any case arising under chapter xiv. of the Book of Discipline, entitled "Of Differences Between Judicatories," with such powers as the General Assembly shall confer upon the Commission.

CHAPTER XIV.

OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN JUDICATORIES.

136. ANY judicatory deeming itself aggrieved by the action of any other judicatory of the same rank, may present a memorial to the judicatory immediately superior to the judicatory charged with the grievance and to which the latter judicatory is subject, after the manner prescribed in the sub-chapter on Complaints (Sections 8393, Book of Discipline), save only that with regard to the limitation of time, notice of said memorial shall be lodged with the Stated Clerks, both of the judicatory charged with the grievance and of its next superior judicatory, within one year from the commission of the said alleged grievance.

137. When any judicatory deems itself aggrieved by another judicatory and determines to present a memorial as provided for in the preceding section, it shall appoint a committee to conduct the case in all its stages, in whatever judicatory, until the final issue be reached.

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