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Recommendation 2095 (2016)
Parliamentary immunity: challenges to the scope of the privileges and immunities enjoyed by members of the Parliamentary Assembly
1. The Parliamentary Assembly reiterates
that its members are covered by rules of immunity established by
a set of provisions drawn from the Statute of the Council of Europe
(ETS No.1), the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of
the Council of Europe and its protocol (ETS Nos. 2 and 10) and the
Assembly’s Rules of Procedure.
2. Under the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of
the Council of Europe, concluded in application of Article 40 of
the Statute, the members of the Parliamentary Assembly enjoy three
types of protection:
2.1. parliamentary
non-liability, guaranteed by Article 14 of the general agreement,
which makes them immune from any judicial proceedings – criminal,
civil and administrative – in respect of an opinion expressed or
a vote cast in the performance of their parliamentary duties, and
is designed to protect the independence of members of the Assembly
and ensure their freedom of judgment, expression and decision;
2.2. parliamentary inviolability (Article 15 of the general
agreement), which protects them against any arrest, detention or
judicial proceedings outside the national territory in the territory
of any other member State, in addition to the national immunity
they enjoy in their own State;
2.3. free movement (Article 13 of the general agreement).
3. As stated in Rule 67 of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure
and underlined in its Resolution
2127 (2016) on parliamentary immunity: challenges to
the scope of the privileges and immunities enjoyed by members of the
Parliamentary Assembly, these immunities are granted in order to
preserve the integrity of the Assembly and to safeguard the independence
of its members in exercising their European mandate.
4. The Assembly strongly condemns the breaches by some Council
of Europe member States of the status of privileges and immunities
of Assembly members, and especially of the principle of free movement,
and expects the Committee of Ministers to call on member States
to act in strict compliance with their obligations under the above-mentioned
provisions of the Statute of the Council of Europe and the General
Agreement on Privileges and Immunities and its protocol, and to
guarantee their effective application.