Glenford Eckleton Mitchell

The Universal House of Justice (Persian: بیت‌العدل اعظم‎) is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Bahá'í Faith. It was envisioned by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, as an institution that could legislate on issues not already addressed in the Bahá'í writings, providing flexibility for the Bahá'í Faith to adapt to changing conditions. It was first elected in 1963, and subsequently every five years, by delegates consisting of the members of Bahá'í National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world. The Universal House of Justice, as the head of the religion, has provided direction to the worldwide Bahá'í community primarily through a series of multi-year plans, as well as through annual messages delivered during the Ridván festival. The messages have focused on increasing the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies, translating Bahá'í literature, establishing Bahá'í Centres, completing Bahá'í Houses of Worship, holding international conferences, and developing educational systems to enhance literacy, the role of women, spirituality for children and youth, family life, social and economic development, and communal worship. The Universal House of Justice has also played a role in responding to systemic persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran by garnering worldwide media attention. The books and documents published by the Universal House of Justice are considered authoritative and its legislative decisions are considered infallible by Bahá'ís. While empowered to legislate on matters that are not explicitly stated in the Baha'i holy writings, the Universal House of Justice has, since its inception, limited its exercise of this function. The Seat of the Universal House of Justice and its members reside in Haifa, Israel, on the slope of Mount Carmel. The most recent election was 29 April 2018. Although all other elected and appointed roles in the Bahá'í Faith are open to men and women, membership on the Universal House of Justice is male-only, providing an exception