This section covers the ecclesiastical law of the Church of England as well as the laws and regulations governing other denominations. It focuses in particular on the Faculty Jurisdiction, which regulates the usage of churches, churchyards and their contents, including such matters as alterations and extensions to church buildings, the reordering of church interiors, the disposal of church treasures, the exhumation of human remains and the erection of headstones or memorials. Disputes are dealt with in the consistory courts by barristers in their capacity as Diocesan Chancellors.
This section also encompasses the discipline of clergy, under the Clergy Discipline Measure, and the employment status of clergy, together with doctrinal matters such as the ordination of women, the blessing of civil partnerships and the right of clergy to officiate at or enter into same-sex marriages. Appellate work in the Arches Court of Canterbury, the Chancery Court of York and the Court of Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved is also included.
