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Parliament Act 2025

Parliamentary privilege - Parliamentary privilege: purpose, content, status, and recognition

16: Status and recognition of parliamentary privilege

You could also call this:

"What special rights do MPs have and how are they recognised?"

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You know that the House of Representatives and its members have special rights. These rights are part of New Zealand's laws. All courts must recognise these rights. You need to understand that courts must accept certain documents as evidence. This includes copies of the Journals of the House of Commons. These documents are accepted without needing extra proof. If a court is looking into these special rights, they must follow certain rules. They must accept certain documents as evidence, like the Journals of the House of Commons, which can be found through links such as the one to the https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6052084. This helps the court understand the special rights of the House of Representatives.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS804141.

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Part 2Parliamentary privilege
Parliamentary privilege: purpose, content, status, and recognition

16Status and recognition of parliamentary privilege

  1. The privileges, immunities, and powers exercisable by the House of Representatives, its committees, and its members are part of the laws of New Zealand.

  2. All courts and all persons acting judicially must take judicial notice of those privileges, immunities, and powers.

  3. Subsection (4) applies to any inquiry concerning those privileges, immunities, and powers by a court, any person acting judicially, or any other person.

  4. The court or person must admit a copy of the Journals of the House of Commons that appears to be printed or published by order of the House of Commons as evidence of those journals without requiring any further proof that the copy was printed or published by that order.

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