IN last week’s piece, I dealt with some of the key points to present to a court when handling a chieftainship dispute. This week, I turn to ecclesiastical disputes. My goal is to make you aware of the main issues that parties must be mindful of to which a court will apply its mind. These issues often determine whether or not an ecclesiastical legal suit succeeds or fails.
Locus standi
First, the party bringing the suit will invariably claim that they have authority to stand on behalf of the church. The church itself will often be cited as one of the applicants/plaintiffs as the case may be. A church, in legal parlance, is a common law universitas, meaning that it is a voluntary organisation that is governed by a constitution. A principal characteristic of a common law universitas is that is has the capacity to sue and be sued.
Where a church sues, therefore, it should do so only on the authority of the constitution. If a litigant is not clearly empowered by the church constitution to bring a claim to court, then a court of law will interrogate that authority and make a determination
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