Parliamentary Privilege

• Parliamentary privilege is a system that allows MPs legal immunity in the House of Commons through freedom of speech (debate issues that could bring prosecution outside of Parliament e.g. naming criminals or victims) and exclusive cognisance (each House can regulate itself without interference from the courts)
• Parliamentary privilege is only intended to encourage open discussion as part of proceedings of the House - they cannot be sued or charged with a criminal offence as a result of anything they say in proceedings
• MPs may lose their seat if they are imprisoned for over 12 months and parliamentary privilege doesn't excuse them from this - it does not grant immunity from criminal proceedings
• 1689 Bill of Rights - Article 9 enforces Parliamentary Privilege

  "The freedom of speech and debateds or proceedings in parliament ought not to be questioned in any court or any place out of Parliament"
• Article 9 of the 1689 Bill of Rights

  Parliament wanted to run independently of the monarchy which still controlled the courts. Parliament held MPs to account through their own strict laws and has since surrendered some of their jurisdiction following the decline of the monarchy so MPs accused of criminal offences are dealt with in courts rather than HOC authorities
• Parliamentary privilege could be considered outdated as it was introduced when the monarch was sovereign
• 1999 Joint Committee - "Parliamentary Privilege is not static and immutable" meaning it can and will change with the times and has been seen as MPs are now tried in normal courts for criminal offences
• Parliamentary Privilege has been abused occasionally so more clarification of the matter is needed, however the premise is not obsolete - it allows open debate and speech by lawmakers, allowing them to consider all the facts when making a decision
• Parliamentary Privilege has only been codified in Erskine May's 'Parliamentary Practice' which is considered to be a work of authority but it is still open to interpretation, particularly by MPs' lawyers