REGARDING THE INFALLIBILITY OF THE INTERNATIONAL BAHA'I COUNCIL
According to the provisions of the sacred Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha which is the Charter for the World Order of Baha'u'llah, the infallibility conferred upon the second International Baha'i Council/Universal House of Justice which is the Golden Rod is not dependant upon the physical presence of the Guardian. On page 14 of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha, 'Abdu'l-Baha provides for the infallibility of the council to continue without the guardian being present. 'Abdu'l-Baha writes:
Should he (the guardian) not attend in person its deliberations, he must appoint one to represent him (W&T, p. 14).
The General Body is not dependent upon the Guardian's actual presence for its infallibility otherwise 'Abdu'l-Baha would have stated so.
Shoghi Effendi--the only Guardian who was the infallible interpreter of the word--takes this a step further in his constitution of for the second International Baha'i Council by providing for circumstances in which a Guardian has not appointed one to represent him by providing for a vice-president. Shoghi Effendi gave us a binding and authoritative interpretation of the Covenant.
He set up the first stage of the international Baha'i Council with appointed members including a vice-president. This provision is a safety mechanism for a situation in which the president/guardian could not, or would not, appoint someone to represent him when he himself cannot, or will not, take his seat. Even the guardian cannot bring the Kingdom of God to a screeching halt. This most important provision guarantees the nations and peoples of the world that the guardian cannot hold the world at a ransom by refusing to be present or otherwise blackmail the world until they meet his demands.
Even the guardian cannot bring the Kingdom of God on earth to a screeching halt at his whim. The body is infallible as long as it is the body that acknowledges him as its president--whether or not he will serve.Neither branch is infallible by itself, but the Branch of Gold is infallible.
As Shoghi Effendi provided for a vice-president, if the guardian/president refuses to participate and hasn't appointed a representative the vice-president simply-chairs the meetings and sets the agenda in his stead. The general body continues to make the decisions as before, and the guidance and direction of the Cause of God continues on without him, still infallible and freed from all error.
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The second International Baha'i Council/Universal House of Justice is a branch of gold because it recognizes the hereditary position of the guardianship in the World Order of Baha'u'llah, as the president of the second International Baha'i Council and the head of the Universal House of Justice in all its stages of development. The second International Baha'i Council must accept and acknowledge that the guardian is the president regardless of whether the guardian actually physically sits at the council table.
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