Bill on privileges of MPs passed; penalty for breaching MPs

The Parliament has passed the Bill on Privileges and Authorities of Members of Parliament, and decided that anyone in breach of privileges of Members should be imprisoned.

The bill was passed by the parliament without any amendments, as it was passed by the temporary committee formed to research the bill. Both amendments proposed to the bill were rejected by the parliament.

Votes in favour of passing the bill were 31, while votes against it were also 31. There were three abstentions. Subsequently, the Speaker voted in favour of passing the bill.

The bill states that disorderly conduct by persons allowed as guests to attend parliament sittings and committee meetings that disrupts these sessions would be considered a breach of the privileges of the parliament, and that the penalty for this crime is a fine of an amount between MVR500 and MVR1000, or imprisonment for a period between three and six months.

Deliberately deceiving the parliament or committees is also a crime, for which the penalty is a fine of an amount between MVR3,000 and MVR10,000, or imprisonment for a period between three and six months.

The bill states that a Member caught committing a criminal offense can be arrested, and that the Speaker of Parliament must be informed of such arrests immediately.

If a Member is to be arrested for a reason other than being caught while committing a crime, this can only be done under a court order which must be requested for by the Prosecutor General. It must be facilitated for Members to attend parliament sessions while they are under arrest.

The bill states that a Member cannot be taken to court or summoned to any other institution such that it prevents him from carrying out official duties of the parliament or committees.

Also, the official court summon notification cannot be handed over to a Member while he is at the parliament.

The bill describes that any effort by Members to obtain undue advantage for himself or for any other person by using his post or information he obtained as a result of his post, would be considered a crime.