We are fleshing out Standing Orders on parliamentary privileges and immunities – Dr. Ayine
While legal experts have stated that the police are not bound to seek the permission of the Speaker before effecting the arrest of an MP, some MP’s and even the Speaker of Parliament have justified the need for parliamentary immunity.
Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, Chairperson of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament, has disclosed that parliament is fleshing out the privileges and immunities portion of the House’s Standing Orders.
He says this would help clear any confusion that may arise concerning the limitations of Parliamentary Privileges and Immunities and to clearly define what constitutes a breach of privileges.
“We have the new standing orders that are coming before the house and those orders have actually been deliberated upon by the committee of which I am chairman that is the subsidiary legislative committee. And we’re fleshing out the Privileges and Immunities portion,” he said.
He also noted that House is currently considering whether to make the standing order justiciable.
“Now the question is whether the standing orders are justiciable, for instance in situations where let’s say the IGP arrests a Member of Parliament in a manner that is in breach of the standing orders when they’re passed. Can there be a resort to court for purposes of let’s say determine whether or not there has been a breach of privilege?” he explained.
He has also suggested that the Privileges and Immunities standing orders could be passed as an Act of Parliament, to ensure that the courts can determine whether an action is in breach of parliamentary privileges within the confines of the statute.
“I think that usually, we tend to want to resort to court interpretation but sometimes the courts may even end up confiscating the situation making it more confusing for us,” he added.
His comments come at the back of recent confusion regarding the attempts to arrest Francis Xavier Sosu, the Member of Parliament for the Madina Constituency.
While legal experts have stated that the police are not bound to seek the permission of the Speaker before effecting the arrest of an MP, some MP’s and even the Speaker of Parliament have justified the need for parliamentary immunity.
