The MP’s immunity can be limited, but by clear provisions, says the appraisal by the Constitutional Court of Moldova (CCM) of the initiative to review the Constitution’s article concerning incompatibility and immunity. The CCM held that the legislative proposal to amend the Constitution submitted by the Government violates the limits of review as it generates confusion regarding the correlation between the MP’s immunity and the existence of an irrevocable judgment of conviction, IPN reports.
In its appraisal, the Court says that in the proposed variant, the bill to review the Constitution cannot be presented to Parliament for adoption. Under the current provisions of Article 70 of the Constitution, the MP cannot be detained, arrested, searched, except for cases when this is caught red-handed, or brought to justice without the Parliament’s consent, after listening to this. By this bill, it is suggested excluding the parliamentary immunity not only in cases when the MP is caught red-handed, but also when the case is sent to court and when there is an irrevocable judgment of conviction.
At the same time, the Court held that the proposed amendment creates confusion as regards the incidence of the MPs’ immunity when there is an irrevocable judgment of conviction and this can generate uncertainty and difficulties in interpretation and implementation. Moreover, in this part the legislative proposal runs counter to the previous case law of the CCM. Thus, in its decision of January 20, 2015, the Court ruled that the immunity does not apply to the convicted MP, whose term in office ends in such a case.
Earlier, the CCM already pronounced on the review of the constitutional provisions concerning the parliamentary immunity. In all the cases, the Court approved of the examined bills, which provided for the removal of the parliamentary immunity as well. “Thus, in principle, the parliamentary immunity can be limited,” it is said in the Court’s press release.
