Legal Definitions - excommunicator

An excommunicator is an individual or an entity that holds the formal authority to officially remove a member from a community, organization, or institution. This act of removal, known as excommunication, typically results in the loss of privileges, rights, and membership status within that body.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Religious Authority

  In a large religious denomination, if a high-ranking cleric, such as a bishop or a council of elders, makes the official decision to expel a member for violating fundamental doctrines or rules, that cleric or council acts as the excommunicator. The individual is then formally excluded from participating in religious rites and community life.

• Example 2: Professional Licensing Board

  Consider a state medical licensing board that investigates a doctor for severe professional misconduct. If, after due process, the board votes to revoke the doctor's license, thereby preventing them from practicing medicine in that state, the board functions as the excommunicator. The doctor is effectively removed from the professional community of licensed practitioners.

• Example 3: Exclusive Social Club

  Imagine a private, members-only social club with a strict code of conduct. If the club's governing committee, after reviewing a member's repeated violations of club rules, decides to terminate their membership and bar them from the premises, that committee serves as the excommunicator. The former member loses all access and privileges associated with the club.