Dioceses, Pastoral and Mission Measure 2007

Constitution and Membership

1 The Commission shall consist of a person to be known as “the Chair”, a person to be known as “the Vice-Chair” and eight other members.

2 The Chair and Vice-Chair shall be appointed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York acting jointly from among the members of the House of Clergy and the House of Laity of the General Synod.

3 Four members of the Commission shall be elected by the General Synod from among its members and four members shall be appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Church of England either from among the members of the Synod or otherwise.

4 A person shall not be qualified for membership of the Commission who is a member of the Archbishops' Council, the Church Commissioners, their Assets Committee, their Audit Committee or any other committee of the Commissioners constituted by the Board of Governors or otherwise established under section 5(4) of the Church Commissioners Measure 1947 (10 & 11 Geo 6 No. 2) or any joint committee of the Commissioners and the Archbishops' Council appointed under that section.

5 A person who ceases to be qualified for membership of the Commission shall forthwith vacate the office to which that person was appointed except that a member who is a member of the General Synod may continue to act as a member of the Commission so long as that person is entitled to act during a period of its dissolution under paragraph 3(4) of Schedule 2 to the Synodical Government Measure 1969 (1969 No. 2).

6 Subject to paragraph 7 below, the members of the Commission shall take office on the first day of May immediately following the termination of the period of office of the persons in whose place those persons were appointed or elected and shall hold office until the thirtieth day of April following the year in which the General Synod is next dissolved and a new Synod comes into being.

7 The first appointments and elections of the members of the Commission shall take place as soon as practicable after the coming into force of section 2(2) above and—

(a) they shall take immediate effect, and

(b) the members shall hold office until the date specified in paragraph 6 above, except that if the period which elapses between the coming into force of section 2(2) above and that date is less than three years, they shall hold office until the thirtieth day of April following the year in which the second subsequent dissolution of the General Synod occurs and the new Synod comes into being following that dissolution.

8 Any member of the Commission shall on ceasing to hold office be eligible for re-appointment or re-election unless that person became a member by virtue of re-appointment or re-election under this paragraph or appointment under paragraph 9 below following re-election under this paragraph.

9 Where a member of the Commission elected by the General Synod under paragraph 3 above has, following the dissolution of the Synod, not been re-elected to the new Synod, that person may be appointed by the Appointments Committee as a member and shall hold office until the thirtieth day of April following the year in which the new Synod comes into being.