The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Baha'i Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the Baha'i administration. Its nine members are elected every five years by an electoral college consisting of all the members of each Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly throughout the world.