Article 3 Laying of complaint
The laying of a complaint before the registrar of a province or diocese under section 18 of the Measure in respect of any offence shall be effected in accordance with the following provisions of this rule.
Three copies of the complaint shall be lodged with the registrar, and it shall be in the appropriate form set out in the Appendix.
The complaint shall be signed by the person or, as the case may be, each of the persons by whom it is laid, and shall state the authority or qualification of that person or, as the case may be, each of those persons for laying the complaint and shall state the offence or offences charged and give particulars of the alleged acts or omissions constituting the offence or, as the case may be, each of the offences charged, and shall state the complainant's address for service.
The complaint shall be verified by an affidavit sworn by the person or, as the case may be, each of the persons by whom it is laid, and the original affidavit or affidavits and one copy thereof shall be lodged with the registrar.
If the complaint is laid by a person authorised by a bishop or an archbishop to do so, a certificate signed by the bishop or archbishop and certifying his authority shall, subject as hereinafter provided, be lodged with the registrar.
If the complaint is laid by persons qualified by having their names on the electoral roll of a parish or conventional district or guild church, a certificate or certificates signed by a churchwarden of the parish, district or church or by the secretary of the parochial church council or guild church council and verifying the qualification of each of those persons shall, subject as hereinafter provided, be lodged with the registrar.
If the persons by whom a complaint is laid include persons qualified as lay members of a diocesan conference, a certificate or certificates signed by the secretary of the conference and verifying the qualification of each of those persons shall, subject as hereinafter provided, be lodged with the registrar.
The registrar may dispense with any such certificate as aforesaid in a case where he is otherwise satisfied of the qualification of any such person.
If the registrar is satisfied that the foregoing provisions of this rule have been complied with, he shall seal one copy of the complaint with the seal of the registry and return it to the complainant, and shall complete the laying of the complaint by filing another copy thereof in the registry.
The registrar shall give the third copy of the complaint—
where the accused is a priest or deacon, to the bishop of the diocese of which he is the registrar;
where the accused is a bishop, to the archbishop of the relevant province; or
where the accused is an archbishop, to the senior of the diocesan bishops of the relevant province, excluding any bishops laying the complaint, seniority being determined in accordance with section 67 of the Measure.