The Hungarian authorities have presented the request to the European Parliament for the revocation of the immunity of the Italian MEP, Ilaria Salis, who had already spent fifteen months in precautionary detention in Hungary as part of a trial for the aggression of some citizens Hungarians. Thus begins the process by which Parliament will decide on the request.
The first step is in the legal commission (Juri). Parliamentary immunity – we read in the EP documents – is a guarantee of independence of Parliament as an institution and of the deputies who compose it and not a personal privilege of the deputy. It is intended to protect Parliament and the deputies that compose it from criminal proceedings relating to activities carried out in the exercise of the parliamentary mandate and which cannot be separated from that mandate.
The legal commission of the EP it does not examine whether the deputy is guilty or not and on the relevance of the judicial proceedings. It limits itself to determine whether from the need to safeguard the independence of Parliament becomes an obstacle to the judicial process. Just as it does not examine the relative merits of national legal and judicial systems. Alleged shortcomings of national judicial systems cannot be used to justify a decision not to revoke or to defend a Member’s immunity. The examination of each immunity case – which always takes place behind closed doors – includes an initial presentation by the rapporteur in the committee, a possible hearing of the member concerned, an exchange of opinions and a vote. Hearings are optional: a deputy can always waive the right to be heard. At the end of the exchange, voting takes place and the request is placed on the agenda of the next plenary session for a vote in the chamber.