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Shunning and family · Claim record

The elders' handbook text produced to the New Zealand inquiry (April 2021) directs elders to counsel a member known to have 'unnecessary association with disfellowshipped or disassociated relatives who are not in the household', to withhold congregation privileges if he does not respond, and to take judicial action only for 'persistent spiritual association' or open criticism of the decision; the Norwegian Supreme Court quoted the same paragraph from the 2019 edition.

Claim ID claim-shunning-elders-handbook-relatives-ruleConcerns 1 April 2021Explicit statement
Explicit statement · 1 April 2021 Verified

The elders' handbook text produced to the New Zealand inquiry (April 2021) directs elders to counsel a member known to have 'unnecessary association with disfellowshipped or disassociated relatives who are not in the household', to withhold congregation privileges if he does not respond, and to take judicial action only for 'persistent spiritual association' or open criticism of the decision; the Norwegian Supreme Court quoted the same paragraph from the 2019 edition. “Shepherd the Flock of God”—1 Peter 5:2 (ks), April 2021 revision, chapters 12, 14, 16 and 22, as produced to the New Zealand Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care (document JHV0000012), April 2021Supreme Court of Norway (Høyesterett), judgment HR-2026-1009-A (case no. 25-089326SIV-HRET), official English translation published 16 July 2026, 29 April 2026

The organisation’s position or later explanation: The Norwegian majority relied on this paragraph to find that 'not... any contact with former members entails a risk of disfellowshipping'.

Show the evidence (2 sources)
Official public record Verified

“Shepherd the Flock of God”—1 Peter 5:2 (ks), April 2021 revision, chapters 12, 14, 16 and 22, as produced to the New Zealand Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care (document JHV0000012), “Chapter 12 par. 17(1) and 44-46; Chapter 16 par. 27-31”

April 2021 · ch. 12 par. 17, 44-46; ch. 16 par. 27-31 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (published as inquiry evidence by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, New Zealand)

“If a publisher in the congregation is known to have unnecessary association with disfellowshipped or disassociated relatives who are not in the household, elders should use the Scriptures to counsel and reason with him. ... He would not be dealt with judicially unless there is persistent spiritual association or he persists in openly criticizing the disfellowshipping decision.”

Par. 17(1): wilful association with disfellowshipped or disassociated non-relatives 'would warrant judicial action'; par. 44-46 on persons inactive for many years; ch. 16 par. 29-31: announcement 'It should read as follows: "[Name of person] is no longer one of Jehovah’s Witnesses."', takes effect at the announcement, S-77 form sent to the Service Department.

Official source Scan of original Link not auto-checkable

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. PDF (35 pages) downloaded from the inquiry's evidence library and text-extracted; wording confirmed. Cited as a public-inquiry exhibit, not from any leaked copy. The Norwegian Supreme Court quotes the identical par. 17 text from the 2019 edition (para 127).

Scan provenance. Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care (New Zealand) evidence library; copyright Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.

Corroborated by. src-court-no-2026-0429-supreme-court

Notes. The NZ Royal Commission host opens in a browser but refuses automated fetches (HTTP 403), so the link is marked blocked rather than broken.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-ks-2021-0400-shepherd-the-flock-nz-inquiry

Official public record Verified

Supreme Court of Norway (Høyesterett), judgment HR-2026-1009-A (case no. 25-089326SIV-HRET), official English translation published 16 July 2026, “The State (Ministry of Children and Families) v. Jehovah’s Witnesses; European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses (intervener)”

29 April 2026 · paras 4, 39-45, 94-102, 110-127, 149-152, 227-230 · Norges Høyesterett

“Members of the religious community are thus not to associate with former members, whether disfellowshipped or withdrawn. This also applies to close relatives, unless they belong to the same household. Family ties are not severed, but with regard to family members other than those with whom one lives, contact is permitted only in necessary family matters. It is undisputed that the threshold for such contact is relatively high.”

3-2 majority (Steen, Arntzen, Hellerslia; Poulsen and Falkanger dissenting) dismissed the State's appeal and declared the refusals of registration and grants invalid; unanimous that infringement of children's rights was not proved; majority: practice 'may entail a clear psychological pressure not to withdraw' (para 123) but not 'improper pressure' under Art. 9 ECHR; dissent: right to withdraw infringed. Costs NOK 2,165,461. Quotes od 2019 p. 148, lvs pp. 39-40, ks 2019 ch. 12 par. 17, w24 Aug p. 24 par. 18, the 2022 jw.org FAQ and a JW brochure 'Jehovah’s Witnesses and Disfellowshipping'.

Official source Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Official English translation PDF (https://www.domstol.no/globalassets/upload/hret/translated-rulings/2026/hr-2026-1009-a.pdf) downloaded and read; all quoted paragraphs confirmed. Norwegian original: https://www.domstol.no/globalassets/upload/hret/avgjorelser/2026/april/hr-2026-1009-a.pdf

Scan provenance. Supreme Court of Norway, Communication Department translation (legal authenticity remains with the Norwegian text).

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-court-no-2026-0429-supreme-court

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-shunning-elders-handbook-relatives-rule/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.