Advocates of parliamentary immunity suggest the doctrine is necessary to keep a check on unauthorised use of power of the judiciary, to maintain judicial accountability, and to promote the health of democratic institutions.
[1] Legislators in countries using the Westminster system, such as the United Kingdom, are protected from civil action and criminal law for slander and libel by parliamentary immunity whilst they are in the House.
Unlike other countries, Brazilian parliamentary immunity is also extended to crimes committed outside a parliamentarian's official duties (murder, theft, etc.).
[3][4] Criminal proceedings may be suspended for crimes committed only after a parliamentarian begins his term of office, and requests for suspensions need to be approved by majority of members of Parliament.
[7] Members of the Parliament of France enjoy irresponsibility for what they did as parliamentarians, and partial inviolability – that is, severe restrictions for the police or justice to arrest or detain them.
Members of the Hellenic Parliament are immune from criminal prosecution, arrest or detention while in office,[9] with the exception of crimes committed in flagrante delicto.
[9] However, both the Constitution and the Standing Orders allow for the Public Prosecutor's Office to request from Parliament to lift an MP's immunity for a particular crime, with MPs deciding through open balloting.
[12] Parliamentary immunity in Italy was re-instated in 1948 by the Constituent Assembly, to prevent cases such as "Francesco Saverio Nitti, whose house was searched and ransacked by the fascist police in the fall of 1923; Giacomo Matteotti, murdered by fascists June 10, 1924 for his work as a deputy of opposition; Giovanni Amendola, beaten in Montecatini in 1925 and died in Cannes in April 1926; Antonio Gramsci, whose parliamentary mandate was revoked on Nov. 9, 1926 and who was tried in 1928 by a special court for his activities as a Member of Parliament and as a political opponent.
It only protects the MP from being arrested or detained without the due authorisation of the Assembly of the Republic, except in situations of flagrante delicto for serious crimes.
Legislative immunity in South Korea was established in the 1987 Constitution, which ended nearly 30 years of military dictatorship following pro-democracy movements.
Most notably in 2013, the arrest motion of Assemblyman Lee Seok-ki—suspected of plotting with several members of his party to overthrow the government if a war broke out with North Korea—was submitted to the National Assembly.
In Spain, parliamentarians in the national Congress of Deputies and senators as well as legislators serving in regional administrations and certain members of the Spanish royal family are afforded 'Aforos', thus becoming 'aforados' (lit.
These protections can be revoked by the National Assembly (usually as approval from the Standing Committee) or the People's Council (local legislatures), respectively.
The proposal to arrest, put in custody, detain or prosecute a National Assembly deputy or to search his/her place of residence and workplace must fall under the jurisdiction of the Procurator General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy.