ABSTRACT
Introduction The privileges of Parliament are those rules of both Houses of Parliament which offer protection from outside interference – from whatever source – to the Houses collectively, and to individual members. Parliamentary privilege also entails the right of Parliament to regulate its own composition and procedure: it is an aspect of Parliament’s sovereignty or supremacy. Parliamentary privilege has a long history, dominated before 1688 by confl icts between Crown and Parliament. The constitutional settlement of 1688 settled that confl ict in Parliament’s favour.
