Bahá’í History Collection 1963 * 1st Universal House of Justice

The Universal House of Justice was ordained by Bahá’u’lláh in His book of laws. It is elected every five years by members of the National Spiritual Assemblies (currently 181) around the world -- National Spiritual Assemblies are themselves elected every year by members of Local Spiritual Assemblies, also elected annually in each country. Its permanent seat is on the slope of Mount Carmel in Haifa, the Holy Land.

In 1951, when there were only nine National Spiritual Assemblies, Shoghi Effendi (Guardian of the Cause) appointed members to the International Bahá'í Council, and described it as an embryonic international House of Justice. After Shoghi Effendi's passing in 1957, the Hands of the Cause directed the affairs of the religion and announced that the election of the Universal House of Justice would occur in 1963 at the end of the Ten Year Crusade, an international teaching plan instituted by Shoghi Effendi.

In 1961 the International Bahá'í Council was changed to an elected body, with members of all National Spiritual Assemblies voting for its members. Then in April 1963, the first Universal House of Justice was elected by 56 National Spiritual Assemblies. The date of the election coincided with the completion of the Ten Year Crusade and also with the 100th anniversary of the first public declaration of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation of God's new message to humanity. Since then, the nine members of the Universal House of Justice act as the head of the religion -- individual members have no authority, only as an assembly do they have legislative capacity. In 1972 it published its constitution.

The general functions of the Universal House of Justice, as stated by Bahá'u'lláh, include to promulgate the cause of God, to preserve the law, to administer social affairs, to educate the people's souls, to guarantee the education of children, to make all peoples prosperous (eliminate extremes of wealth and poverty), and to care for the elderly and the ill who are in poverty. According to its constitution, the Universal House of Justice itself states that "The provenance, the authority, the duties, the sphere of action of the Universal House of Justice all derive from the revealed Word of Bahá'u'lláh which, together with the interpretations and expositions of `Abdu'l-Bahá and of Shoghi Effendi ... constitute the binding terms of reference of the Universal House of Justice and are its bedrock foundation."

The institution has also collected and published extracts from the writings of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. These collected works have been used as a base in the deliberations of the Universal House of Justice.

The Promise of World Peace (1985)
Statement addressed "To the Peoples of the World", presented to over 160 heads of state and government. It outlines the major prerequisites for, as well as the obstacles working against, the establishment of world peace.
Bahá'u'lláh (1992)
Marking the centenary of the passing of Bahá'u'lláh, this statement is a review of His life and work.
The Prosperity of Humankind (1995)
A statement on the concept of global prosperity in the context of the Bahá'í Teachings.
Century of Light (2001)
Review of the 20th century, focusing on dramatic changes and the emergence of the Bahá'i Faith from obscurity.
Letter to the World's Religious Leaders (2002)
Letter addressing the disease of sectarian hatreds. Calling on all religious movements to "rise above fixed conceptions inherited from a distant past."
One Common Faith (2005)
Document primarily intended for a Bahá'í audience, in which it identifies as a major challenge for the Bahá'í community the inculcation of the principle of the oneness of religion and the overcoming of religious prejudices.

The initial election in 1963 drew five members from the International Bahá'í Council, two from the National Spiritual Assembly (NSA) of the United States, one from the NSA of Britain, and one from the NSA of India. The present (2018) Universal House of Justice members hail from Australia, Costa Rica, Great Britain, India, Iran, United States, and Zambia.

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