Articles and Resources

The constitution of the Universal House of Justice was drafted soon after the body was first elected in 1963 and was completed and signed in 1972.

In 1985, the Universal House of Justice addressed a message to the peoples of the world inviting them to consider that a new social order can be fostered by all peoples’ seeing themselves as members of one universal family. This message was presented to world leaders and countless others during the United Nations International Year of Peace.

In April 2002, the Universal House of Justice invited the leaders of the world’s religious communities to reexamine the issues lying at the heart of interfaith activity.

The Universal House of Justice is established in the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Who ordained that it would assume authority over His religion and rule on matters that He had not already determined. He stated that the House of Justice must be “a shelter for the poor and needy” and safeguard the position of religion.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá emphasized the authority of the House of Justice. It would, He said, be under the protection of Bahá’u’lláh and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Shoghi Effendi devoted the 36 years of his ministry to building systematically the national and local institutions of the Bahá’í community, preparing it for the election of the Universal House of Justice.

A list of further reading on this subject is available here.