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In His Will and Testament Abdu'l-Baha conferred the mantle of Guardian of the Cause and infallible Interpreter of its teachings upon His eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, and confirmed the authority and guarantee of divine guidance decreed by Baha'u'llah for the Universal House of Justice on all matters "which have not outwardly been revealed in the Book". The Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice can thus be seen to be, in the words of Shoghi Effendi, the "Twin Successors" of Baha'u'llah and Abdu'l-Baha. They are the supreme institutions of the Administrative Order which was founded and anticipated in the Kitab-i-Aqdas and elaborated by Abdu'l-Baha in His Will. (3:2) During the thirty-six years of his ministry, Shoghi Effendi raised up the structure of elected Spiritual Assemblies--the Houses of Justice referred to in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, now in their embryonic stage--and with their collaboration initiated the systematic implementation of the Divine Plan that Abdu'l-Baha had laid out for the diffusion of the Faith throughout the world. He also set in motion, on the basis of the strong administrative structure that had been established, the processes which were an essential preparation for the election of the Universal House of Justice. This body, which came into existence in April 1963, is elected through secret ballot and plurality vote in a three-stage election by adult Baha'is throughout the world. The revealed Word of Baha'u'llah, together with the interpretations and expositions of the Centre of the Covenant and the Guardian of the Cause, constitute the binding terms of reference of the Universal House of Justice and are its bedrock foundation.
(3:3)
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