EUROPEAN COMMISSION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (IMMUNITIES AND PRIVILEGES) (Hansard, 6 May 1958)

§ The Joint Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Ian Harvey)
I beg to move, That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the International Organisations (Immunities and Privileges of the Council of Europe) (Amendment) Order, 1958, be made in the form of the draft laid before this House on 3rd April. The purpose of this draft Order is to confer upon members of the European Commission of Human Rights, which as the House knows, is an organ of the Council of Europe, certain immunities in connection with their official duties. I know the House is very jealous in regard to conferring this type of immunity. Therefore, I should like to make clear that these immunities are very similar to those already afforded to representatives of member Governments to the Committee of Ministers under Article 7 of the International Organisations (Immunities and Privileges of the Council of Europe) Order, 1950, which has been amended and which is now in force.
There is nothing in the present draft Order which exempts the members of 1178 the Commission from the ordinary processes of the law except in respect of matters which relate to the performance of their official functions or during the the period when they are exercising those functions. In according such immunities, we do not in any way exceed the immunities previously granted in respect of representatives to members of certain organs and committees of other major international organisations.
The House will, I think, wish to know why it is that we ask for this Order. It is, of course, because we have an obligation to confer these immunities under Article 59 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, which lays down that the members of the Commission shall, during the discharge of their duties, be entitled to the privileges and immunities provided for in Article 40 of the Statute of the Council of Europe and in the Agreements made thereunder. This Convention was ratified by Her Majesty's Government on 8th March, 1951.
The privileges and immunities to be accorded to the European Commission of Human Rights were subsequently specified in the Second Protocol to the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe, 1179 which was signed on behalf of Her Majesty's Government and entered into force on 15th December, 1956. The point of the present draft Order is to enable Her Majesty's Government to ratify this Second Protocol. For the information of the House, the number of persons who would now be involved is 14. I hope, therefore, that the House will agree to the Order.

§ Sir Frank Soskice (Newport)
As the Minister has said, this House as a whole is always very careful to consider thoroughly the case for conferring immunities on members of various international bodies. I think, however, that it is the combined opinion of the House that now that international bodies play such a big part in the development of human affairs it is necessary that they should be vested with certain privileges necessary to enable them, without any inhibitions, to discharge the duties imposed upon them.
The Minister has explained that in this case we are dealing with the European Commission of Human Rights, and I think I am right in supposing that that is a Commission that has the duty to discharge a number of functions of a judicial character It therefore seems entirely appropriate that its members should be accorded the immunity which the Order proposes, and particularly the immunities mentioned in 12 (b), namely: Immunity from legal process … in respect of words spoken … or things done in the course of their sessions as a Commission. Speaking from this side, I think that wholly appropriate, and I will offer no objection whatever to the Order.
There are, however, one or two minor questions that I would like to ask the Minister, and for which I should be grateful for an answer. As the hon. Gentleman has said, the object of the Order is to enable Her Majesty's Government to ratify the Second Protocol to the Agreement. That Agreement was entered into on 15th December, 1956. I am not sure to what the subsequent delay is attributable, but I am sure that there is a very good reason, and perhaps the Minister will be good enough to give the House a word of explanation about that.
My second question is this. The Commission of Human Rights has been 1180 sitting, and, indeed, transacting a considerable amount of business. Has it been doing so without being invested with the privileges which this Order will now confer upon its members? Have the members, in fact, been subject to the risk of legal process in respect of words spoken in the course of the hearings of the Commission? I do not know whether that is the case. I would rather assume that there must have been something which would have protected them, but that this Order now is intended to give protection in a different and, perhaps, enlarged form.
Thirdly, so far as I understand this draft Order, it is one which amends two preceding Orders, so that there will be three Orders in force all together. I gather that the Government, at one time, had it in mind to enact a consolidating Order which should express in one document all the immunities conferred under the terms of the 1950 Act. Certainly, if they did do that, it would make for greater clarity, and, I should have thought, would conduce to the peace of mind of those who sit on the Commission. They would look in one document to see how far their protection extended, instead of having to refer to three. I think that it would be appropriate, in due course, for the Government to introduce a consolidating Order. Perhaps the Minister would say what the Government's intentions are on this point.
Those are the questions which occurred to me in considering the terms of the draft Order and the circumstances in which it is proposed to make it. Subject to there being satisfactory answers, as I am sure there will be, the Government need not anticipate any opposition from this side of the House, but on the contrary, they may expect approval.

§ Mr. Ian Harvey
With permission, Mr. Speaker, I should like, first, to express my obligation to the right hon. and learned Gentleman the Member for Newport (Sir F. Soskice) for the way in which he has received the draft Order and his statement that it will receive the support of hon. Gentlemen opposite. I will gladly answer the three questions which he has, quite reasonably, put to me.
First, the reason for the delay is that, during the period, it has been necessary to define exactly the nature of the privileges required for this particular Commission. Secondly, it is true that the 1181 Commission has already been operating. It has operated in Cyprus, under special legislation passed by the Governor. We therefore want to extend that so that, when the Commission meets in other conditions, it will be covered.
So far as a consolidating Order is concerned. I think that it would also be conducive to the peace of mind of the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if there could be one Order instead of the large number to which he had to refer. I cannot give an exact indication of what is likely to transpire, but what the right hon. and learned Gentleman has said obviously contains a great deal of sense. I have no doubt that the position will be closely examined in the near future.