Brief History

Present Day

1963 – Election of the first Universal House of Justice

‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave significant attention in His Writings to the clarification and delineation of the administrative system conceived by Bahá’u’lláh. In His Will and Testament He specified in particular the responsibilities, functions, powers and authority of the two institutions which would succeed Him: the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice.

One of Shoghi Effendi’s chief goals during his ministry was the development of the Bahá’í community to the point where it could sustain the establishment of the Universal House of Justice, the elected council ordained by Bahá’u’lláh, whose aims and purposes would be complementary to those of the Guardianship. Five-and-a-half years after his passing, the conditions necessary for this to occur were finally fulfilled.

^{The Seat of the Universal House of Justice, in Haifa, Israel}

Present Day

Today the Bahá’í Faith is guided by the Universal House of Justice, whose nine members are elected once every five years in accordance with Bahá’u’lláh’s instructions, and which is endowed by Him with the authority to legislate on matters not explicitly laid down in the Bahá’í scriptures.

The Bahá’í community now has over five million members worldwide. Elected national Bahá’í administrative institutions exist in 182 countries. The Bahá’í International Community is an officially accredited non-governmental organization (NGO) at the United Nations. Bahá’ís all over the world continue to spread Bahá’u’lláh’s Message and pursue many endeavors of service in their local communities, such as spiritual education classes for children, socio-economic development projects, devotional gatherings, and many other activities.