The church says it "would not be approaching Mr Barton" should it need to appoint members to an assembly judicial commission — a body that hears any appeals against church disciplinary decisions.
Mr Barton is listed as a member of the church’s judicial panel, which means he can be summoned to serve on the commission.
He has already taken a leave of absence from his position as president of the New Zealand Law Society (NZLS) and from his duties on the University of Otago council, after he was linked to the destruction of children’s records by Presbyterian Support Otago (PSO) in the final report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.
According to the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand’s (PCANZ) Book of Order, the church’s general assembly is able to delegate judicial functions to an appointed commission, to hear appeals of any disciplinary decisions.
Disciplinary action can be taken against ministers, elders, office bearers, church workers, members and associate members who are found to have exercised "unbecoming conduct" — which the Book of Order defines as "conduct that calls into question the suitability of the respondent to retain office or alternatively membership of the church".
PCANZ assembly executive secretary the Rev Wayne Matheson said a judicial commission consisted of between three and five people and heard appeals against a decision of a disciplinary commission.
If there was a need for a judicial commission to be appointed, its members were drawn from the church’s judicial panel — a group appointed by the church’s general assembly who can serve on the commission, which includes Mr Barton.
"Noting matters before the Law Society, should we need to appoint an assembly judicial commission, we would not be approaching Mr Barton", Mr Matheson said.
Current PSO board chairwoman Stephanie Pettigrew and deputy chairman Kerry Enright are also listed as members of the judicial panel, in addition to Mr Barton, according to minutes of a 2023 session of the church’s general assembly.
In November 2022, in response to evidence given to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, the church appointed King’s Counsel Kirsty McDonald to lead an independent investigation into allegations of a paedophile ring involving church parishioners at Dunedin’s Glendining Presbyterian Children’s Homes in the 1950s.
In March this year, the investigation could not "confirm or deny the allegations made".
An investigation by the Otago Daily Times shed more light on Mr Barton’s email exchange in 2016 with former PSO chief executive Gillian Bremner regarding the destruction of children’s records.
In the email exchange Mrs Bremner asked: "... on balance do you think we are best to destroy the rest of the files and keep only minimal info? The connection is with [name of staff member in charge of looking after the files] and I think when she retires in the next five years we would do just that as we would have no connection and frame of reference to that bit of history and no legal obligation to hold them."
Mr Barton answered: "Yes, I think so but at an appropriate milestone or anniversary."
Mr Matheson did not answer further questions including whether the PCANZ was considering removing Mr Barton from its judicial panel.
"As Mr Barton is the subject of a formal complaint to the Law Society we will not be making any comment", he said.
