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Article: Parliament and democracy in the 21st century: parliamentary privilege.
- Article from:
- Canadian Parliamentary Review
- Article date:
- December 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Canadian Parliamentary Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Definitions of parliamentary privilege abound throughout the Commonwealth but drawing largely from Joseph Maingot, a bored Canadian author on the subject, privilege can be described as the necessary immunity the law provides for Members of a House of Parliament or Assembly to perform their work and the authority of those Houses and Assemblies to enforce that immunity and protect their integrity. It also covers the rights enjoyed by each House of Parliament and Assembly required to perform their work. Members, officers and those participating in a proceeding of a House or Assembly are "cloaked" by privilege. Any offence against the authority of a House of Assembly is ...