The deliberation of the assembly on immunity, as a rule, takes the form of resolution (as
proceeds in the Defendant State) - This resolution is a legal-constitutional act with a
political nature, as it represents the exercise of a faculty directly conferred by the
Constitution that defines its requirements and its object.
Thus, this is an act of relationship between two organs of sovereignty (National
Assembly and the Court) that represents in practice a conditioning of the Judiciary by
the Parliament, with scope beyond the mere procedural effects, as it configures as an
instrument for the affirmation and independence of the legislative power, and is
therefore on the same level as legislative acts coming from a sovereign body or a
supreme State body, with an individual and concrete nature, similar in their content to
administrative acts.
Parliamentary immunity, either the national (of the concerned State Member) or the
Community (ECOWAS) immunity enjoyed by the applicant is not a personal privilege of
the Member of Parliament, but prerogatives or guarantees granted to Parliament
Members with a view of ensuring them the protection and independence necessary for
the performance of their duties. Therefore, they are ultimately aimed at preserving the
dignity, integrity and independence of Parliaments as a whole, vis-à-vis other State
bodies or any other authorities.
Therefore, it appears that the parliamentary immunity itself does not constitute a
human right.
However, violations of parliamentary immunities may lead to violations of human rights
provided for in international instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, including the rights to
freedom of expression, equality under the law and fair trial. (See Conclusions OF
ADVOCATE GENERAL NIILO JÄÄSKINEN delivered on 9th June 2011 (1) on the
Proceedings C-163/10 of the European Court of Justice).
In this case, none of these or other human rights have been claimed by the applicant.
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