Hardt, S.,
National Assembly Decree of
National Assembly Decree of
See the second sentence of Rule 5(2) of the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, according to which
That idea was eloquently expressed by the Tribunal Constitucional (Constitutional Court, Spain) in its judgment 90/1985 of
See, by way of example, Santaolalla López, F.,
That remark must not be read as alluding to any State in particular, especially the Kingdom of Spain. It is an objective observation, as acknowledged in particular by the Venice Commission, which is in fact very critical of parliamentary inviolability (see European Commission for Democracy through Law,
Immunity shall likewise apply to Members while they are travelling to and from the place of meeting of the European Parliament. Immunity cannot be claimed when a Member is found in the act of committing an offence and shall not prevent the European Parliament from exercising its right to waive the immunity of one of its Members.
In Spanish legal language,
BOE No 147 of
DOGC No 7449 of
DOGC No 7451 of
Order of the Tribunal Supremo (Supreme Court) 5051/2019 (ES:TS:2019:5051A).
BOE 2019, No 142, p. 62477.
[See translator’s note]
On that distinction between acquiring and exercising the parliamentary mandate, see, amongst others, Avril, P. and Gicquel, J.,
See, by way of example, in French law, Gicquel, J. and Gicquel, J.‑E.,
In my view, that requirement itself raises doubts as to whether it complies with EU law, particularly in the light of the first sentence of Article 14(2) TEU, according to which
My italics. That is precisely what emerges from the case-law of the Court, including that relied upon by the Spanish Government and the Commission in their observations, that is to say, the judgments of
See, to that effect, judgment of
Judgment 119/1990 of
On the swearing in of Members of the Spanish Parliament, see, amongst others, Álvarez Conde, E. and Tur Ausina, R., op. cit., pp. 571-572.
See Santaolalla López, F.,
Logically, a suspension as the result of a criminal indictment, such as that under Article 384
Admittedly, when that provision refers to
See, amongst others, Corbett, R., Jacobs F. and Neville, D.,
See, amongst others, resolution of the Parliament of
Judgment of
The first session of the ninth parliamentary term of the Parliament began on
See Article 153(2) of the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure – 9th parliamentary term.
Judgment of
The only obvious exception being where a person replaces a Member of the European Parliament whose term of office has ended before expiry.
Judgment of
I will mention only, by way of example, Article 105(2) of the Polish Constitution, which prohibits the criminal prosecution of parliamentarians from as soon as the results of the elections are declared, and Articles 751 and 752 of the Law on Criminal Procedure, quoted in point 22 of this Opinion.
According to an information note published on the website of the Consejo General del Poder Judicial (General Council of the Judiciary, Spain), the forfeiture of civil rights involves the permanent deprivation of all, including elected, public honours, employment and offices, and the right to be elected to a public office (see Article 41 of the código penal (Spanish Civil Code)). Furthermore, under Article 6(2) and (4) of the Electoral Code, a custodial sentence gives rise to both ineligibility and incompatibility.
See, to that effect, judgment of
Ultimately, it is for the referring court to assess the exact effects of the judgment of
Judgment of