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Parliament Bill

Parliamentary privilege - Other provisions relating to parliamentary privilege - Members and officers in court or tribunal proceedings

35: Exemption of Speaker from attendance: interim exemption by Speaker

You could also call this:

"The Speaker can excuse themselves from court if they act quickly and fairly in an emergency."

Illustration for Parliament Bill

If you are the Speaker, this section applies to you in certain situations. You might not be able to tell the House of Representatives about something straight away because they are not meeting, and you think you need to act quickly. You must then decide whether to give yourself a special certificate that says you do not have to go to court or a tribunal, unless you think not going would be very unfair or hurt someone badly. You have to sign this certificate, say what court or tribunal case it is about, and attach a copy of the summons to it. If you get this certificate, it only lasts until you tell the House of Representatives about it and they decide what to do. The House of Representatives will look at what you did and decide whether to make the exemption official under section 34(3). This is all part of a proposed new law, so it is not in effect yet. You should know that this is related to what is said in section 34(2)(a), which explains when the Speaker can act without telling the House of Representatives first. The Speaker has to follow these rules to make sure everything is done fairly and correctly. This is all to help the Speaker make good decisions when they are in a difficult situation.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS804176.

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34: Exemption of Speaker from attendance: exemption by House of Representatives, or

"The Speaker doesn't have to go to court if the House of Representatives says so."

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36: Service of exemption certificate or order, or

"Giving copies of exemption papers to people involved in a court case"

Part 2Parliamentary privilege
Other provisions relating to parliamentary privilege: Members and officers in court or tribunal proceedings

35Exemption of Speaker from attendance: interim exemption by Speaker

  1. This section applies if the Speaker—

  2. is unable to bring the matter to the attention of the House of Representatives without delay (under section 34(2)(a)) because the House of Representatives is adjourned or Parliament is not in session; and
    1. is satisfied that it is necessary to act without delay.

      1. The Speaker must grant an interim exemption certificate exempting the Speaker from attending the court or tribunal unless satisfied, after any inquiry the Speaker considers appropriate, that not complying with the summons would—

      2. defeat or seriously delay the interests of justice; or
        1. cause irreparable injury to a party to the proceedings.

          1. The Speaker must—

          2. sign the interim exemption certificate; and
            1. ensure that the certificate identifies the court or tribunal attendance it relates to; and
              1. attach a copy of the summons to the certificate.

                1. An interim exemption certificate ceases to have effect when—

                2. the Speaker has brought the matter to the attention of the House of Representatives; and
                  1. the House of Representatives has decided whether to make an exemption order under section 34(3).