the beginning verses in Acts 15 show that it was a congregational discussion....not just the apostles and 'some of the older men' as the WT claims.
That's a good point. It reminds me of the actual procedure implemented in the first century for rule breakers within the congregation. The "judicial committee they faced was at the city gates, in the open, in front of everyone. They could call their own witnesses and actually speak in defense of themselves. If they were actually found guilty then other Christians would still associate with them, they just wouldn't eat with them as the scriptures instructed them.
In other words any "punishment" was not used as a means of control over some subservient individual, rather it was a mere statement of disagreement among Christians who were all on the same level......brothers in Christ. This is far different from the abusive and controlling practices of today's JWs.