Parliamentary privilege, also known as absolute privilege, is a legal mechanism employed within the legislative bodies of countries whose constitutions are based on the Westminster system. In other legislatures, a similar mechanism is known as parliamentary immunity. The Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster, in London. ... Parliamentary immunity is a system in which members of the parliament are granted partial immunity from prosecution. ...

In the United Kingdom, it allows members of the House of Lords and House of Commons to speak freely before those houses without fear of legal action on the grounds of slander. It also means while a member is within the grounds of the Palace of Westminster he/she cannot be arrested on civil matters; there is no immunity from arrest on criminal grounds. A consequence of the privilege of free speech is that legislators in Westminster systems are forbidden by conventions of their House from uttering certain words, such as "liar" (see unparliamentary language). The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as the Lords. The Sovereign, the House of Commons (which is the lower house of Parliament and referred to as the Commons), and the Lords together comprise the Parliament. ... Type Lower House Speaker of the House of Commons Leader of the House of Commons Michael Martin, (Non-affiliated) since October 23, 2000 Harriet Harman, QC, (Labour) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Theresa May, PC, (Conservative) since December 6, 2005 Members 646 Political groups... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... “Houses of Parliament” redirects here. ... In a Westminster system, unparliamentary language is words or phrases that are deemed to be inappropriate for use in the House whilst it is in session. ...

The rights and privileges of members are overseen by the powerful Committee on Standards and Privileges. If a member of the house is in breach of the rules then he/she can be suspended or even expelled from the House. Such past breaches have included giving false evidence before a committee of the House and the taking of bribes by members. The Committee on Standards and Privileges of the UK House of Commons was established in 1995 to replace the earlier Committee of Privileges. ...

Similar rights apply in other Westminster system countries, such as Canada and Australia. Further, though the legislature of the United States was not modelled on Westminster, the US system of privilege is based on Westminster practice. A legislature is a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Article One of the United States Constitution Article One of the United States Constitution describes the powers of the legislative branch of the United States government, known as Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. ...

Parliamentary privilege is controversial because of its potential for abuse; a member can use privilege to make damaging allegations that would ordinarily be discouraged by defamation laws, without first determining whether those allegations have a strong foundation.

Privileges of the UK House of Commons

The ancient and undoubted rights and privileges of the Commons are claimed by the Speaker at the beginning of each new Parliament: In the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, and is seen historically as the First Commoner of the Land. ...

1. Freedom of speech;
2. Freedom from arrest;
3. Access of the Commons to the Crown (via the Speaker); and
4. That the most favourable construction should be placed upon the deliberations of the Commons.

Privileges not so claimed: Freedom of speech is the concept of being able to speak freely without censorship. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Throughout the Commonwealth Realms The Crown is an abstract concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government. ...

1. Right of the House to regulate its own composition;
2. Right of the House to regulate its own internal proceedings (to take exclusive cognisance of matters within the house);
3. Right to punish members and “strangers” for breach of privilege and contempt;
4. Right of impeachment; and
5. Right to control finance and to initiate financial legislation (as against the Lords).

Depiction of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, then President of the United States, in 1868. ...

Parliamentary papers

There is an absolute common law privilege for papers circulated among MPs by order of the House (Lake v. King (1667) 1 Saunders 131). This is extended to all papers published under the House's authority, and to correct copies by the Parliamentary Papers Act 1840. The Act also extends qualified privilege to extracts. This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... The Parliamentary Papers Act 1840 (3&4 Vict. ... The defense of qualified privilege permits persons in positions of authority or trust to make statements or relay or report statements that would be considered slander and libel if made by anyone else. ...

Parliamentary privilege in Canada

In Canada, the federal Senate and House of Commons and provincial legislative assemblies follow the definition of parliamentary privilege offered by the British parliamentary authority, Erskine May's Treatise on The Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament, which defines parliamentary privilege as "the sum of the peculiar rights enjoyed by each House collectively as a constituent part of the High Court of Parliament, and by Members of each house individually, without which they could not discharge their function... the privileges of Parliament are rights which are absolutely necessary for the due execution of its powers. They are enjoyed by individual Members, because the House cannot perform its functions without unimpeded use of the service of its Members, and by each House for the protection of its members and the vindication of its own authority and dignity." Parliamentary privilege can therefore be claimed by Members individually or by the House collectively. The Senate of Canada (French: Le Sénat du Canada) is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and the House of Commons. ... The House of Commons (French: Chambre des communes) is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and the Senate. ... A Legislative Assembly in some parts of the Commonwealth refers to a legislature, or a chamber of the legislature. ...

The rule for when parliamentary privilege applies is that it cannot exceed the powers, privileges and immunities of the imperial parliament as it stood in 1867, when the first constitution was written.

Individual parliamentary privileges include:

1. Freedom of speech
2. Freedom from arrest in civil action
3. Exemption from jury duty
4. Exemption from appearing as a witness
5. Freedom from obstruction, interference, intimidation and molestation

Collective parliamentary privileges include:

1. Power to discipline
2. Regulation of the House’s internal affairs
3. Management of Employees
4. Authority to maintain the attendance and service of Members
5. Right to institute inquiries and to call witnesses and demand papers
6. Right to administer oaths to witnesses
7. Right to publish papers containing defamatory material

The Supreme Court of Canada has previously dealt with the question of parliamentary privilege in New Brunswick Broadcasting Co. v. Nova Scotia (Speaker of the House of Assembly). In that case, the Court made these observations about parliamentary privilege: Holding The appeal should be allowed. ...

“Privilege” in this context denotes the legal exemption from some duty, burden, attendance or liability to which others are subject. It has long been accepted that in order to perform their functions, legislative bodies require certain privileges relating to the conduct of their business. It has also long been accepted that these privileges must be held absolutely and constitutionally if they are to be effective; the legislative branch of our government must enjoy a certain autonomy which even the Crown and the courts cannot touch.

The privileges attaching to colonial legislatures arose from common law. Modelled on the British Parliament, they were deemed to possess such powers and authority as are necessarily incidental to their proper functioning. These privileges were governed by the principle of necessity rather than by historical incident, and thus may not exactly replicate the powers and privileges found in the United Kingdom.

Recent cases of parliamentary privilege in Canada adjudicated by the courts include:

1. 1993: New Brunswick Broadcasting Co. v. Nova Scotia (Speaker of the House of Assembly), where the courts held parliament could restrict who could enter the parliamentary precincts.
2. 1999: Zundel v. Boudria, et al., where the courts held parliament could restrict who could enter the parliamentary precincts.
3. 2001: Ontario (Speaker of the Legislative Assembly) v. Ontario (Human Rights Commission), where the courts held the actions of the provincial legislative assembly were immune from review by other government bodies including the Human Rights Commission.

Leading cases

• Haxey's case
• George Ferrers
• Duncan Sandys case
• Charles Bradlaugh
• Archibald Maule Ramsay
• Neil Hamilton
• Bill Heffernan
• Executive privilege
• Zircon affair
• Strode's case
• Stockdale v. Hansard
• Garry Allighan

Haxeys case (1397) Rotuli Parliamentorum (iii) 434, is a leading case in English law that established the right to free speech within Parliament. ... George Ferrers (1500? – 1579) was a Member of Parliament for Plymouth in the Parliament of 1542 and a minor court official who was a key figure in the formation of parliamentary privilege of freedom from arrest in England. ... Duncan Edwin Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys, CH PC [1] (24 January 1908 – 26 November 1987) was a British politician and a minister in successive Conservative governments. ... Charles Bradlaugh (26 September 1833 _ 30 January 1891) was a political activist and one of the most famous English atheists of the 19th century. ... Captain Archibald Henry Maule Ramsay (May 4, 1894 - March 11, 1955) was a Scottish Army officer who later went into politics as a Conservative Member of Parliament. ... Mostyn Neil Hamilton (born March 9, 1949) is a former barrister, teacher and Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. ... William Daniel Heffernan (born 3 March 1943), Australian politician, has been a Liberal Party member of the Senate, representing the state of New South Wales, since September 1996. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Zircon affair was an incident in 1986 that raised many important issues in the British constitution. ... Strodes case 3 Howells State Trials 294 is one of the earliest and most important English cases dealing with parliamentary privilege. ... Stockdale v. ... Garry Allighan (16 February 1900 – 1978) was a British journalist and Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP). ...

See also

• Speech or Debate Clause of the United States Constitution

The Speech or Debate Clause (found in Article I, Section 6, Clause 1) is a clause in the United States Constitution which states that members of both Houses of Congress Its intended purpose is to prevent a President or other officials of the Executive branch from having members arrested on... The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. ...

External links

• British Council India's LEGAL eNEWS Theme article comparing British and Indian perspectives
• Australia's Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987
• Josh Chafetz, Democracy's Privileged Few: Legislative Privilege and Democratic Norms in the British and American Constitutions (Yale Univ. Press 2007) (ISBN 0-300-11325-0)
• Simon Wigley, 'Parliamentary Immunity: Protecting Democracy or Protecting Corruption?,' Journal of Political Philosophy, Vol. 11, No.2, pp. 23-40.
• Erskine May, Parliamentary Practice: The Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament, W.R. Mackay et al. (eds) (London: Butterworths, 2004) (ISBN 0-406-97094-7)
• UK Parliament, Reports of the Joint Committee on Parliamentary Privilege in Session HL 43-I/ HC 214-I. (London: The Stationary Office Limited, 1999).
• Marc Van der Hulst, The Parliamentary Mandate. (Geneva: Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2001) (ISBN 92-9142-056-5)