Trailblazer
Veteran Member
You are correct that they are the final authority on who is considered a Covenant-breaker and will thus lose membership, but that does not mean that they wield power over the other institutions of the Baha'i Faith such as the National Spiritual Assemblies. They offer advice and guidance to the NSAs and the LSAs, and they develop 5 Year and 10 Year Plans for the Bahai communities to follow, but we are not ordered to follow those plans, we can do our own thing.Because that's what they define it to be. They are the final authority on the Baha'i religion rules and practice. They are to the Baha'i faith what the Congress and the Supreme Court is to an US citizen or the Pope to Catholics.
That's the first line describing it:
The Universal House of Justice (Persian: بیتالعدل اعظم) is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith
Universal House of Justice - Wikipedia
If you can name an authority within the Baha'i faith that can reverse a decision made by the UHJ please mention it. The only thing above it, as far as I can see, is their prophet who happens to be dead and thus cannot clarify his teachings or make political decision concerning the administration of his Church and their deity which, according to their own faith, doesn't meddle in this way with his creation.
The UHJ does not have any jurisdiction over individual Baha’is and they do not interfere in their lives unless they break the Covenant. The UHJ does not do anything but legislate on what is not spelled out in the Writings of Baha’u’llah. The function of the Universal House of Justice was outlined in the Writings of Baha’u’llah before it was possible for it to be formed. It is a legislative body of nine members elected from among the nations of the world where there are Baha'i National Spiritual Assemblies. It has authority to make decisions about principles or actions which are not expressly revealed in the Writings of Baha'u'llah. It also legislates as to when it is timely for certain of the Laws of Baha’u’llah in the Aqdas to be practiced. Finally, only the Universal House of Justice can declare any Baha'i to be a Covenant-breaker but it has to be a serious infraction, someone trying to start their own religion in the name of the Baha’i Faith, claiming they are based upon the Writings of Baha’u’llah because that is breaking the Covenant of Baha’u’llah and would ultimately lead to the religion breaking up into many sects, as happened in Christianity and many other religions.