ABSTRACT
The privileges of the United Kingdom 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. This chapter focuses on the United Kingdom (Westminster) Parliament, and discusses that privileges also protect the workings of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. 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. The law and practice of privilege reveals the extent to which individual Members and Parliament as a body are free from outside pressure, whether from interest groups, sponsoring bodies and institutions or the media, a freedom which is central to ensure an independent Parliament. The role of the courts in matters of privilege is confined to determining whether a privilege exists, and its scope.
