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The establishment of local and national Assemblies and the subsequent formation of local and national committees, acting as necessary adjuncts to the elected representatives of Baha'i communities in both the East and the West, however remarkable in themselves, were but a prelude to a series of undertakings on the part of the newly formed National Assemblies, which have contributed in no small measure to the unification of the Baha'i world community and the consolidation of its Administrative Order. The initial step taken in that direction was the drafting and adoption of a Baha'i National constitution, first framed and promulgated by the elected representatives of the American Baha'i Community in 1927, the text of which has since, with slight variations suited to national requirements, been translated into Arabic, German and Persian, and constitutes, at the present time, the charter of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Baha'is of the United States and Canada, of the British Isles, of Germany, of Persia, of Iraq, of India and Burma, of Egypt and the Sudan and of Australia and New Zealand. Heralding the formulation of the constitution of the future Baha'i World Community; submitted for the consideration of all local Assemblies and ratified by the entire body of the recognized believers in countries possessing national Assemblies, this national constitution has been supplemented by a similar document, containing the by- laws of Baha'i local assemblies, first drafted by the New York Baha'i community in November, 1931, and accepted as a pattern for all local Baha'i constitutions. The text of this national constitution comprises a Declaration of Trust, whose articles set forth the character and objects of the national Baha'i community, establish the functions, designate the central office, and describe the official seal, of the body of its elected representatives, as well as a set of by- laws which define the status, the mode of election, the powers and duties of both local and national Assemblies, describe the relation of the National Assembly to the International House of Justice as well as to local Assemblies and individual believers, outline the rights and obligations of the National Convention and its relation to the National Assembly, disclose the character of Baha'i elections, and lay down the requirements of voting membership in all Baha'i communities.
(334:1)
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