Editing Scientology ethics and justice (section)

== Justice actions ==

=== Chaplain's court ===
A sort of [[Civil law (common law)|civil court]] process where two Scientologists can go to handle civil disputes.{{r|hubbard-admindict|page=73}}

=== Arbitration ===
There is no arbitration procedure within Scientology or written by Hubbard; the closest procedure to what is commonly known as [[arbitration]] is the [[#Chaplain's court|Chaplain's court]].{{r|hubbard-admindict|hubbard-ethics|straus}}{{r|rinder|p=176}}{{r|reitman|p=248}} However, in 2020 [[Mike Rinder]] wrote about arbitration—explaining that members must sign contracts ''before'' doing any Scientology services, and that these contracts were drafted with typical corporate language requiring arbitration rather than lawsuits to settle disputes with the Church corporations.{{Efn|Use of "Church" or "the Church" is a common shortened form of "Church of Scientology"; see [[The Church (Scientology)]].}}
{{Blockquote |text=The bottom line is that there is no such thing as scientology arbitration. It was a term invented by scientology's in-house counsel to include in agreements designed to prevent civil litigation. Arbitration is not mentioned in any Hubbard policy letter anywhere. There is no prescribed procedure for "scientology arbitration." —Mike Rinder <ref>{{Cite web |title=Concerning Scientology "Religious Arbitration" |first=Mike |last=Rinder |author-link=Mike Rinder |url=https://www.mikerindersblog.org/concerning-scientology-religious-arbitration/ |date=January 30, 2020}}</ref>}}

=== Ethics hearing ===
An [[#Ethics officer|ethics officer]] may send out a formal request to a person or persons to show up for a hearing. An ''ethics hearing'' is a fact-finding hearing, to gather information about whether an ethics violation has occurred.{{r|hubbard-admindict|pages=180}}

=== Court of ethics ===
A ''court of ethics'' is a disciplinary hearing based on evidence already collected.{{r|hubbard-admindict|pages=117}} A court of ethics is convened by an [[#Ethics officer|ethics officer]] or an executive senior to the staff member being charged. The offenses being accused are of non-serious nature and the sentences are at the discretion of the person who convened the court of ethics.  The court is not supposed to engage in investigation, but rather operate only on known evidence.<ref>Hubbard Communications Office, HCOPL 26 May 1965, "Courts of Ethics"</ref>

=== Non-enturbulation order ===
An order to a scientologist stating that if one more ethics report is received on them, they will be declared a [[#SP|suppressive person]].{{r|hubbard-admindict|pages=348–349}}

{{anchor|Comm ev}}

=== Committee of evidence (Comm ev) ===
A ''comm ev'' is a disciplinary procedure, Scientology's version of a trial or [[tribunal]], which is "rather like a [[court martial]] but without lawyers or formal procedural norms."{{r|straus}} A scientologist is summoned to a committee of evidence to answer for a list of alleged crimes or [[#High crimes|high crimes]]. A panel of appointed scientologists in good standing are to "gather and review evidence, determine guilt, and recommend punishment."{{r|rinder|page=297}}{{r|headley|page=347}}

{{Quote frame|align=center|A Committee of Evidence is considered the most severe form of ethics action. |author=L. Ron Hubbard |source=HCO PL 29 Apr 65 III}}
The process starts at the request of an executive who makes a formal accusation. A ''convening authority'' initiates the comm ev by appointing a chairman, a secretary, and two to five other Scientology members, the majority of which should be senior to the accused. The committee will read and hear evidence for and against the accused. The panel has two weeks to complete the comm ev process. The accused may present their own evidence and testimony, as well as bring witnesses to testify, but may not bring any [[Lawyer|legal representatives]]. After reviewing evidence, the committee votes guilty or not on each charge, and conviction is determined by majority vote. The committee recommends punishment and the results are published as the ''findings and recommendations'' signed by all committee members. The only means of recourse is a ''review'' by a higher level committee, which reviews only recordings and documents from the original comm ev — no new evidence to be presented.<ref>{{citation |date=September 1963 |title=HCOPL 7 Sep 63 Committees of Evidence – Scientology Jurisprudence, Administration of |publisher=Church of Scientology}}</ref>

{{anchor|sec check}}

=== Security checking (sec check)===
{{Main|List of Scientology security checks}}
[[Interrogation]]s done using an [[E-meter]].{{r|rinder|page=303}}

=== Dead file ===
Anyone disagreeing with Scientology or writing a nasty letter to the Church of Scientology is dead filed. Their letters go in the trash and the organization doesn't respond. Scientology magazines are not sent to persons that are dead filed.{{r|malko|page=158}}{{r|hubbard-admindict|page=107, 131}}