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General observances |
Order in the House.
27 March 1621. |
20. - (1) The Lords in the Upper House are to keep dignity and order, and not to remove out of their places without just cause, to the hindrance of others that sit near them, and the disorder of the House; and are not to pass between the Woolsack and the Table, nor between the Woolsack and the Lord who is speaking.
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(2) When the House is sitting, every Lord is to make obeisance to the Cloth of Estate on entering the House.
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Judges.
27 March 1621. |
21. The Judges, when summoned to attend the House, are not to speak or deliver any opinion until it be required, and they be admitted so to do by the major part of the House in case of difference.
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Lords not to converse whilst the House is upon business.
30 March 1670. |
22. If any Lord has occasion to speak with another Lord while the House is sitting, they are to retire to the Prince's Chamber, and not converse in the space behind the Woolsack; or else the Lord Speaker is to call them to order, and, if necessary, to stop the business in agitation.
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Leave of absence.
16 June 1958. |
23. - (1) Lords are to attend the sittings of the House or, if they cannot do so, obtain leave of absence, which the House may grant at pleasure; but this Standing Order shall not be understood as requiring a Lord who is unable to attend regularly to apply for leave of absence if he proposes to attend as often as he reasonably can.
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(2) A Lord may apply for leave of absence at any time during a Parliament for the remainder of that Parliament.
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(3) On the issue of writs for the calling of a new Parliament the Clerk of the Parliaments shall in writing ask every Lord who was on leave of absence at the end of the preceding Parliament whether he wishes to apply for leave of absence for the new Parliament.
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(4) A Lord who has been granted leave of absence is expected not to attend the sittings of the House until the period for which the leave was granted has expired or the leave has sooner ended, unless it be to take the Oath of Allegiance.
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(5) If a Lord, having been granted leave of absence, wishes to attend during the period for which the leave was granted, he is expected to give notice to the House accordingly at least one month before the day on which he wishes to attend; and at the end of the period specified in the notice, or sooner if the House so direct, the leave shall end.
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Lords not to answer accusations in the House of Commons.
20 January 1674. |
24. No Lord shall either go down to the House of Commons or send his answer in writing or appear by Counsel, to answer any accusation there.
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Lords' attendance at Commons Select Committees.
26 July 1983. |
25. Any Lord requested by a Committee appointed by the Commons to attend as a witness before it or before any Sub-Committee appointed by it shall have the leave of this House to attend, if his Lordship thinks fit.
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Messages between the two Houses.
22 March 1889. |
26. One of the Clerks of either House may be the bearer of messages from the one to the other.
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