Chapter 17 - Witnesses
Immunity from
summons
It has not been established as a matter of law that any category of
persons has any immunity from summons by the Senate or its committees, although
theses have been advanced that various officer-holders should be recognised as
having such an immunity on grounds of constitutional propriety. (See Supplement). Possible and mooted limitations on the
Senate’s power to compel witnesses are summarised in ‘The Senate’s power to
obtain evidence and parliamentary “conventions”’, paper by the Clerk of the
Senate, published by the Finance and Public Administration
References Committee, September 2003.
The procedures of the Senate acknowledge that special considerations
apply to two categories of office-holders: senators and members and officers of
other houses.
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