Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act 1962

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Coming into Force: 01 July 2000
• Act Number: (Original Enactment: Ordinance 11 of 1962)
• Enactment Date: 23 March 1962
• Record Number: Cap. 217
• Published date: 01 July 2000

Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act

(CHAPTER 217)

(Original Enactment: Ordinance 11 of 1962)

REVISED EDITION 2000

(1st July 2000)

An Act to declare and define the privileges, immunities and powers of Parliament and of the Speaker, Members and committees thereof, to regulate the conduct of Members and other persons in connection with the proceedings thereof, to give protection to persons employed in the publication of the reports and other papers of Parliament and for purposes incidental to or connected with the matters aforesaid.

[23rd March 1962]

PART I PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act. Interpretation 2. In this Act, unless inconsistent with the context — “Clerk” means the Clerk of Parliament or other person for the time being lawfully performing the functions of that office; “committee” means a committee of the whole Parliament, or any sessional, select, or other committee of Parliament; “contempt” includes any breach of privilege of Parliament and the commission of any offence mentioned in Part V; “court” includes an Industrial Arbitration Court established, and any board of inquiry appointed, under the Industrial Relations Act (Cap. 136); “journals” means the votes and proceedings of Parliament, the official reports or records of the proceedings thereof, and the minutes or records of the proceedings of any committee; “Member” means a Member of Parliament and shall, where the context so admits, include the Speaker; “officer of Parliament” means the Clerk or any Assistant Clerk of Parliament, the Serjeant-at-Arms and such other officers or persons as may be appointed to the staff of Parliament, and includes any person employed temporarily in Parliament and any police officer acting under the orders of the Speaker, the Clerk or the Serjeant-at-Arms; “Parliament” includes a committee and, where the context so admits, Parliament House and the precincts thereof; “police officer” has the same meaning as in the Police Force Act (Cap. 235); “Speaker” means the Speaker and, in his absence, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and includes any other Member when such other Member is presiding at a sitting of Parliament or a committee of the whole Parliament; “Standing Orders” means the Standing Orders of Parliament for the time being in force; “stranger” means any person who is not a Member or officer of Parliament.

PART II GENERAL Privileges, immunities and powers to be same as those of Commons House of Parliament of United Kingdom 3.—(1) The privileges, immunities and powers of Parliament and of the Speaker, Members and committees of Parliament shall be the same as those of the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom and of its Speaker, Members or committees at the establishment of the Republic of Singapore. [23/86] (2) Such privileges, immunities and powers shall for all purposes be construed and have effect as if those privileges, immunities and powers were prescribed by this Act, and it shall not be necessary in any proceedings to plead the same but the same shall be judicially noticed in all the courts. (3) Subject to the provisions of this Act, upon any inquiry touching the privileges, immunities and powers of Parliament or of the Speaker or of any Member or committee, any copy of the Journals of the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom, or of any record or official report of the proceedings or debates thereof or of any committee thereof, which has been printed or purports to have been printed by the order or by the printer of the Commons House aforesaid, shall be admitted as evidence in all courts and places without proof of its being such copy or that such copy was so printed. Other provisions of this Act not in derogation of section 3 4. Nothing in this Act shall be construed in any way as derogating from the provisions of section 3 and the powers conferred on Parliament by other provisions of this Act shall be in addition to the powers conferred by that section. [23/86] Freedom of speech and debate and proceedings 5. There shall be freedom of speech and debate and proceedings in Parliament, and such freedom of speech and debate and proceedings shall not be liable to be impeached or questioned in any court, commission of inquiry, committee of inquiry, tribunal or any other place whatsoever out of Parliament. [43/2007 wef 01/11/2007]

PART III PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES Exemption from liability in certain cases 6.—(1) No Member shall be liable to any civil or criminal proceedings, arrest, imprisonment or damages by reason of any matter or thing which he may have brought before Parliament or a committee by petition, bill, resolution, motion, or otherwise or may have said in Parliament or in committee. (2) No person shall be liable to any civil or criminal proceedings, arrest, imprisonment or damages by reason of any act done under the authority of Parliament or the Speaker and within its or his legal powers or under any warrant issued by virtue of those powers. Protection of Parliamentary publications 7.—(1) Any person being a defendant in any civil or criminal proceedings instituted for or on account or in respect of the publication by such person or by his employee, by order or under the authority of Parliament or any committee, of any reports, papers or journals may on giving to the plaintiff or prosecutor, as the case may be, 24 hours’ written notice of his intention, bring before the court in which the civil or criminal proceedings are being held a certificate under the hand of the Speaker or of the Clerk stating that the reports, papers or journals in respect whereof the civil or criminal proceedings have been instituted were published by that person or by his employee by order or under the authority of Parliament or any committee. (2) The court shall thereupon immediately stay the civil or criminal proceedings, and the same and every process issued therein shall be deemed to be finally determined. Publication of proceedings without malice 8. In any civil or criminal proceedings instituted for printing or publishing any extract from or abstract of any report, paper or journal as in section 7 mentioned, if the court is satisfied that the extract or abstract was printed or published bona fide and without malice, judgment shall be entered for the defendant or accused. Exemption from certain duties 9.—(1) It shall not be lawful — (a) to require any Member or officer of Parliament to serve as an assessor on any tribunal; or (b) while in attendance on Parliament or any committee, to compel such person to attend as a witness in any court or tribunal or at any commission of inquiry or committee of inquiry or before any like authority empowered to summon witnesses. [43/2007 wef 01/11/2007] (2) The production of a certificate signed by the Speaker or the chairman of the committee shall be deemed sufficient proof of attendance on Parliament or the committee. Freedom from arrest in civil proceedings 10. Except for a contravention of this Act, no Member shall be liable to arrest, detention or molestation in respect of any matter which may be the subject of any civil proceedings while proceeding to, or in attendance at, or returning from, any sitting of Parliament or any committee. Legal process not to be served or executed within precincts of Parliament 11. Notwithstanding anything in any written law and except in respect of a contravention of this Act, no civil or criminal process may be served or executed — (a) in Parliament or in the precincts thereof while Parliament is sitting; or (b) in any room in Parliament while a committee is sitting therein. Gratuity upon death or incapacity of Member 11A.—(1) Where at any time after 20th May 2011 — (a) a Member dies while serving as a Member; or (b) a Member, having opted under section 7 of the Parliamentary Pensions Act (Cap. 219) to receive a full pension without any gratuity, dies within one year of his pension taking effect, there may be paid to such of his dependants as the President may think fit or, if there are no dependants, to his legal personal representatives a gratuity in accordance with this section (referred to in this section as the death gratuity). (2) In the case of a pensionable Member who has 9 or more years of reckonable service as a Member, the death gratuity shall be an amount as follows: (a) if he never held any office, or if he had previously held office but was not holding any office at the time of his death and has less than 8 years’ reckonable service as an office-holding Member (whether continuously or not) — an amount equal to one of the following sums, whichever is the higher: (i) the annual equivalent of the monthly rate of salary received by him as a Member immediately before his death; or (ii) the Member’s commuted sum in respect of his reckonable service as a Member; (b) if he is holding office at the time of his death and has 8 or more years’ reckonable service as an office-holding Member (whether continuously or not) — an amount that is the balance after deducting any sums already received by him by way of pension or gratuity under the Parliamentary Pensions Act during his lifetime from one of the following sums, whichever is the higher: (i) the total amount by adding the annual equivalent of the monthly rate of salary received by him as a Member immediately before his death and the annual equivalent of the monthly rate of salary received by the Member as a holder of that office immediately before his death; or (ii) the aggregate of the Member’s commuted sum and office-holder’s commuted sum in respect of his reckonable service as a Member and as a holder of any office, respectively; (c) if he is holding office at the time of his death but has less than 8 years’ reckonable service as an office-holding Member (whether continuously or not) — an amount equal to one of the following sums, whichever is the higher: (i) the total amount by adding the annual equivalent of the monthly rate of salary received by him as a ...