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 Bahá’u’lláh 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 Bahá’u’lláh and
‘Abdu’l-Bahá. They are the supreme institutions of the Administrative
Order which was founded and anticipated in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and
elaborated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Will.

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 Kitáb-i-Aqdas, now in their embryonic stage—and with their
collaboration initiated the systematic implementation of the Divine Plan
that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá 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 Bahá’ís throughout the world. The revealed Word of Bahá’u’lláh,
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.

As to the laws themselves, a careful scrutiny discloses that they govern
three areas: the individual’s relationship to God, physical and spiritual
matters which benefit the individual directly, and relations among
individuals and between the individual and society. They can be grouped