WRITTEN EVIDENCEVOLUME 3
INVITATION TO SUBMIT EVIDENCE
The House of Lords and the House of Commons
have established a joint committee of the two Houses to review
parliamentary privilege. The Joint Committee consists of 12 members.
Parliamentary privilege consists of those rights
and immunities which the two Houses and their members must have
in order to carry out their work properly. It includes the right
to speak freely and without fear in Parliament, and the right
of each House to regulate its own affairs free from outside interference,
including the courts. Parliamentary privilege is not a licence
for members of Parliament to behave in ways which are unacceptable
to society at large. It has its roots deep in history, and as
it has developed over the centuries it has in some respects become
obscure and uncertain. It is full of technicalities. The Joint
Committee will be looking at ways to clarify the whole subject
and make it better understood both in Parliament and outside.
The Joint Committee will be investigating:
what is the purpose and scope of
parliamentary privilege?
what uncertainties are there at present
in the application of parliamentary privilege?
should the scope and application
of parliamentary privilege be modified to meet present day needs:
what are the essential protections each House needs for the proper
conduct of parliamentary business as we move towards the 21st
century?
what are the merits of having the
necessary protections of the two Houses codified, either comprehensively
or in part, in legislation or in a new set of Resolutions of each
House?
is there a more modern and better
phrase to replace "parliamentary privilege"?
what are the issues arising out of
Article 9 of the Bill of Rights (1689) and freedom of speech?
what remedies should there be for
citizens wronged by words or actions in Parliament?
what is the scope of the phrase (used
in the Bill of Rights) "proceedings in Parliament":
what aspects of parliamentary activity (in addition to freedom
of speech) should be treated as "proceedings in Parliament"?
what issues arise from the exclusive
jurisdiction of the two Houses over their members and internal
proceedings?
what issues arise from Members' freedom
from arrest and molestation and protection from outside interference?
what response should Parliament make
to the announcement by the Government that it intends to legislate
on corruption? Should the improper influencing or bribery or attempted
bribery of Members of either House be subject to the criminal
law and the jurisdiction of the courts? If so, are safeguards
necessary to protect Members' freedom of speech? The Joint Committee
wishes to make an early report on the improper influencing or
bribery of Members.
section 13 of the Defamation Act
1996: to what extent (if any) should proceedings in Parliament
be subject to the scrutiny of the courts in actions for defamation?
what in modern circumstances should
constitute contempt of the House: should those actions which either
House may treat as a contempt be codified either by Resolution
or in Standing Orders or even in legislation?
the powers of each House to punish
those who have committed contempts of the House; whether the penalties
for contempt of the two Houses need to be modified and updated
(for example, should the Commons have the same power as the Lords
to impose fines on non-Members, and should the two Houses have
power to award damages?);
what are the implications for parliamentary
privilege of:
(i) the incorporation of the European Convention
on Human Rights into UK law;
(ii) a Freedom of Information Act;
(iii) the Official Secrets Act?
any other relevant issues;
and the lessons which can be drawn
at Westminster from the experience of other countries with similar
parliamentary systems.
The Joint Committee welcomes written submissions
from anyone who wishes to comment on all or any of these points.
Submissions should be made not later than 13 January 1998 and
sent to the Clerk of the Journals, House of Lords, London SW1A
0PW.
25 November 1997
The following replied to the original invitation
to give evidence dated 25 November 1997:
Volume 3
HM Attorney General
Faculty of Advocates of Scotland
Crown Prosecution Service
BBC
Mr Francis Bennion
The Guild of Editors
The Newspaper Society
The House of Commons Librarian
Mr Michael Ryle
The Law Society of Scotland
Mr James Price QC
Mr Geoffrey Locke
The News of the World
Mr Christopher Price
Trade Union Side, Whitley Committee, House of Commons
Liberty
Sir Robin Maxwell-Hyslop
Clerk of the Australian House of Representatives
Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of the Australian
Capital Territory
Clerk of the Legislative Council of New South Wales
National Assembly of Que«bec
House of Representatives of New Zealand
The following replied to a questionnaire of 23
February 1998 addressed to Commonwealth Parliaments:
Parliament of New South Wales
Legislative Assembly of Queensland
Parliament of Tasmania
Parliament of Victoria
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
House of Assembly of Nova Scotia
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
National Assembly of Que«bec
Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
Legislative Council of South Australia
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
The following submitted written evidence in reply
to the newspaper advertisements of19 January 1998 (The Daily Telegraph,
The Guardian, The Independent) and 20 January 1998 (The Times):
Mr Walter J Ablett C Eng
Mr Stuart Adair
Mr David Allen
Mr R H C Anwyl
Mrs Maria C Andrews
Anonymous (x 2)
Stephanie Bailey
Mr Brian Barker
Mrs A R Barrett
Mr James Baxter
Mrs Lorna Beavis de Jong
Mr Peter Bench
Mr J Bennett BSC ACMA
Mr Martin Berkeley
Dr John J Birtill
Major S D Bolton MA
Mrs E A Booth
Mr Derek Booth
Mr Albert Broadbent C Eng
Mr Charles Brodie
Mr Nicholas Bromley
Mr Peter Browning
Councillor Richard Buckley, Brent Council
Mr Kenneth Bulmer
Mr Peter J Buonacorsi-How
Mr R D Burston
Mr David M Buxton
Mr P J Byworth
Mr H A Chapman
Miss Nicola Chapman
Margaret Charlesworth
Mr John J Christie
Mr J A Church
Mr Douglas Clare
Mr R Cockerill
Mr Donald A Cole
Margaret Collins
Mrs Sheila Conrad
Mr T M Corson
Mr Simon Cussons
Mr Michael Dauncey
Mr R A Davenport
Mr Ian Davidson
Mr Michael F Deller
Mrs Angela Dimond-Collins
Mr Lewis Doig
Mr John Durkin
Mr Alan Dyke
Mr D W Edwards
Mr C B Elliot
Mr H M Elliston
Mr V B English
Mr J D Evans
Mr J G Ferrie, Director, The Bristol and Western
Engineering Manufacturers' Association Ltd.
Mr L Fisher
Mr J H Fisher
Mr Colin Ford
Mrs Anne Fowler
Mrs P Frankel
Dr David H Frean
Mrs Audrey D Gandy
Mr C J O Garrard
Mr M B Ginns
Mr B H Gobbi
Mr T Grandidge
Mrs Elizabeth Greenwood
Mr F J Harvey
Mrs J J Hatcher
Jillian Hawkins
Mr Gerald Hohler
Mr R G Holland
Mr John A Howard
Mr B A Howlett
Sara Huggard BSc(Econ)
Mr D H Hughes
Mr Roy Hunter
Mr Alan Hurst-Brown
Councillor Bob Ingham BSc
Mr M Jolley
Mr D E Jones
Revd John Kennedy, Public Issues Office, The Methodist
Church
Mr A D Kirkby
Mr V D Lane
Mr Chris D Langdon
Mrs E Lewis
Mr D F Linsell
Mr Duncan Longden
Mrs Patricia Maltby
Mr C A Manners
Mr Derek Martin
Mr M E Martin
Mr G G Mason
Mr Robert McCoig
Mr Grant R McKenzie, Hon Secretary, and Mr Thomas
H Appleby, Chair, North West Civil Liberties
Mr John McLeod, Chairperson, Association of Scottish
Community Councils
Mr Arthur E Millard
Mr J D Moore FAIA
Renata Muller
Mr S J Mustill
Louise Muston
Yvonne D New
Mr Eric Newman
Mr M Oaten
Mr J V Oxenham
Mrs Lyn Pardo
Mr A F Parr
Mr S K R and Mrs A E Patel
Mr P J M Pellereau
Miss J M Pick
Mr D H Pickett
Mr L B Pinnell
Mr Robert Pollard
Mrs Rosemary B Pratt
Kathleen Preston-Goddard
Mr David M Proctor
Mr Keith Pudney
Squadron Leader J B Raglan RAF Rtd
Captain D C Ramwell
Mr Martin Rathfelder
Mr K G O Read
Mr Samuel Reid
Jennifer Elizabeth Rice
Mr Evan Roberts
Councillor Robert Rowden, City of Worcester
Mr Derek Rudd
Mr J H Rumball
Mrs B Santa-Cruz
Mrs Jo Saunders, Social Responsibility Officer, Oxford
Diocesan Board for Social Responsibility
Mr I Scott Cooper
Mr Julian J Sewell
Mr Reginald G Sfpkianos
Mr Stuart Henry Sharp
Mr D E Shearman
Mr K James Sibley
Mr David Simmons
Mr D N and Mrs T J Simpson
Councillor David Skinner BSc MA
Mr S O Smith
Mrs E A Statham
Mrs B Stenhouse
Mrs H Stirzakon
Mr Thomas Stubbs OBE
Mr Andras Szucs
Mr K Tatlow
Mr Michael L Taylor LLB LLM, University of Greenwich
Constance Thompson
Mr Eric J Thompson CB
Suzanne Thompson
Mr Michael Townley
Mr Howard A Tribe
Mr P True
Mrs Mary Vickery
Mr Michael Vidal LLB
Mr Simon Warren
Mrs Eileen Webb
Mr P Webster
Mr O W Wilkins
Mr C M Williams
Captain James H G Wilson, Royal Marines
Mr David W Wooderson
Mr Simon Wormleighton
Mrs Marjory Young
Mr Peter Zander, Churchill Fellow, GODA
The written evidence submitted by the above
witnesses has not been printed to save printing costs. Copies
have been placed in the Record Office, House of Lords, and are
available to members and the public for inspection. Requests for
inspection should be addressed to the Record Office, House of
Lords, London, SW1. (Tel 0171-219 3074). Hours of inspection are
from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm on Mondays to Fridays.
The following evidence was also received:
Volume 3
Joint Memorandum by the Clerk of the Parliaments
and the Clerk of the House of Commons
Letter from the Committee Clerks to the Parliamentary
Commission for Standards, and reply
Further Memorandum from Professor Anthony Bradley
Letter from the Chairman to the Master of the Rolls,
and reply
Letter from the Attorney General to the President
of the Council
Letter from the Chairman to the Lord Chief Justice
of England, and reply
Letter from the Chairman to the Lord President of
the Court of Session, and reply
Letter from the Chairman to the Home Secretary, and
reply
Letter from the Chairman to various newspapers and
broadcasters, on the Parliamentary Papers Act 1840, and replies
Letter from the Chairman to the Minister leading
each government department
Letter from Leader of the House of Commons in reply
to letters from Chairman of the Joint Committee to various government
departments on the Parliamentary Papers Act 1840
Letter from Chairman of the Joint Committee to the
Comptroller and Auditor General on the Parliamentary Papers Act
1840, and reply
Further memorandum by Clerk of the House of Commons:
Papers ordered to be printed by the House of Commons
Memorandum by Professor G J Lindell: Use of parliamentary
proceedings for judicial review of governmental action in Australia
Correspondence between the Chairman of the House
of Commons Liaison Committee and the Chairman of the Joint Committee:
transcripts of uncorrected evidence on Internet
Letter from the Attorney-General to the Chairman
of the Joint Committee: `place out of parliament'
Letter from the Attorney-General of Australia
Further replies to the Chairman's letter (p 155)
to various newspapers and broadcasters
Letter on freedom of information from the Home Secretary
to the Chairman of the Joint Committee, and reply
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