Doc. 9439

7 May 2002

Immunities of Assembly members

Motion for a resolution

presented by Mr Olteanu and others

The Assembly,

1.       Having regard to Article 40 of the Statute of the Council of Europe, under which the representatives of the member states enjoy in the territories of those states such privileges and immunities as are reasonably necessary for the fulfilment of their functions;

2.       Having regard to the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe and the Protocol thereto;

3.       Considering that the wording of Rule 64 of the Rules of Procedure concerning the waiving of the immunity of Assembly representatives and substitutes has remained almost unchanged since 1951;

4.       Noting that both national parliaments in Council of Europe member states and European parliamentary institutions are currently reforming the rules on parliamentary immunity and/or procedures for waiving parliamentary immunity;

5.       Underlining the need for the Parliamentary Assembly to take account of these developments;

6.       Noting that the purpose and scope of parliamentary immunity are not always well understood by the public;

7.       Believing that the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure should clearly stipulate:

i.       that the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe places an obligation on relevant national authorities wishing to waive the immunity of national parliamentarians who are also members of the Parliamentary Assembly also to request that the “European immunity” of the members concerned at the Parliamentary Assembly be waived;

ii.       that, in exercising its powers concerning the immunities of its members, the Parliamentary Assembly aims above all to preserve its integrity as a statutory organ of the Council of Europe and to guarantee the independence of its members in the performance of their European mandates (and not their impunity);

iii.       that the Assembly may issue reasoned opinions on the competence of the requesting national authority and on the admissibility of the request for the waiving of immunity;

iv.       that requests for the waiving of immunity are admissible only in respect of the immunities granted under Article 15 of the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe;

8.       Underlining the need to lay down in an appendix to the Rules of Procedure the details of the procedure to be followed in the Assembly’s Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities for waiving a member’s immunity, as well as clear criteria to guide the committee in its assessment of the factors that argue in favour of or against waiving the member’s immunity;

9.       Decides to amend Rule 64 of the Rules of Procedure accordingly.

Signed : ¹

Olteanu, Turkey, SOC

Baciu, Romania, SOC

Bársony, Hungary, SOC

Baumel, France, EDG

Berceanu, Romania, SOC

Brînzan, Romania, SOC

Chaklein, Russia, UEL

Clerfayt, Belgium, LDR

Coifan, Romania, LDR

de Puig, Spain, SOC

Frunda, Romania, EPP

Hunault, France, EDG

Ilaşcu, Romania, NR

Lopez Gonzalez, Spain, SOC

Popescu, Ukraine, SOC

Prisacaru, Romania, SOC

Schreiner, France, EDG

Shishlov, Russia, LDR

Svoboda, Czech Republic, EPP

Timmermans, Belgium, SOC

Torrado, Spain, SOC

Yanez-Barnuevo, Spain, SOC

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group