A Privileges Act
71. We agree with the Clerk of the House that
a Privileges Act "may define territory in such a way that
it will be clearer both to the courts and to Parliament where
their respective jurisdictions begin and end."[68]
We welcome the Government's announcement that it will bring forward
a draft Privileges Bill in the current Session of Parliament.
We hope that some of our recommendations above may be reflected
in the terms of the draft Bill.
72. These are weighty issues for Parliament.
No-one can accuse successive Governments or Parliaments of rushing
to implement the recommendations made by the Joint Committee in
1999. Yet now is not the time to act in haste. We recommend
that sufficient time be made available for full and careful scrutiny
of the draft Privileges Bill, in order that the resultant Act
may be as clear and robust as possible.
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