Independent and temporary status of conventions
Delegate consultation (as a body) only to take place during the Convention; to elect National Assembly and consult on matters during Convention[edit]
"It should be pointed out to the delegates that the function of consultation of the delegates takes place only when they are in session at the Annual Convention. They do not have any consultative status prior to the Convention or after the Convention. In other words, they are elected to serve as electors of the new National Assembly during the Convention, and to consult on all matters properly coming before the Convention during the Convention period, not before and not after."
- (On behalf of? Shoghi Effendi, Dawn of a New Day, p. 172)
Convention to be wholly independent of influence even from National Spiritual Assembly[edit]
"...The function of the Convention is purely advisory and though the advice it gives is not binding in its effects on those on whom rest the final decision in purely administrative matters, yet, the utmost caution and care should be exercised lest anything should hamper the delegates in the full and free exercise of their functions. In discharging this sacred function no influence whatever, no pressure from any quarter, even though it be from the National Assembly, should under any circumstances affect their views or restrict their freedom. The delegates must be wholly independent of any administrative agency, must approach their task with absolute detachment and must concentrate their attention on the most important and pressing issues."
- (From letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, August 18, 1933: The National Spiritual Assembly, no. 1455)
