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The Development of Parliamentary Privilege, 1604–29
Author(s) -
Hunneyball Paul M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
parliamentary history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.14
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 1750-0206
pISSN - 0264-2824
DOI - 10.1111/1750-0206.12118
Subject(s) - privilege (computing) , scope (computer science) , politics , law , political science , field (mathematics) , convention , sociology , computer science , mathematics , pure mathematics , programming language
The early Stuart parliaments witnessed a dramatic expansion in the exercise and scope of parliamentary privilege. What had once been essentially a mechanism for avoiding disruption to parliamentary business came, instead, to be seen as a personal benefit for members, or even a political weapon for use against the crown. While such developments occurred in both H ouses, it was the L ords which normally led the way, continually pushing the boundaries of privilege as part of a general reassertion of its rights and status. While the C ommons also proved capable of innovation in this field, it is the L ords which emerges from this survey as the more assertive of the two H ouses, better organised and much more effective in exploiting the advantages that parliamentary privilege now provided.