Chapter 4: Parliament
Privilege
71. �
(1)
Delegates to the National Council of Provinces and the persons referred to in
sections 66 and 67—
(a) � have freedom of speech in the Council and in its committees, subject to its
rules and orders; and
(b) � are not liable to civil or criminal proceedings, arrest, imprisonment or damages
for—
(i) � anything that they have said in, produced before or submitted to the
Council or any of its committees; or
(ii) � anything revealed as a result of anything that they have said in,
produced before or submitted to the Council or any of its committees.
(2) � Other privileges and immunities of the National Council of Provinces, delegates
to the Council and persons referred to in sections 66 and 67 may be prescribed by
national legislation.
(3) � Salaries, allowances and benefits payable to permanent members of the National
Council of Provinces are a direct charge against the National Revenue Fund.
Public access to and involvement in National Council
72.
(1) � The National Council of Provinces must—
(a) � facilitate public involvement in the legislative and other processes of the
Council and its committees; and
(b) � conduct its business in an open manner, and hold its sittings, and those of its
committees, in public, but reasonable measures may be taken—
(i) � to regulate public access, including access of the media, to the Council
and its committees; and
(ii) � to provide for the searching of any person and, where appropriate, the
refusal of entry to, or the removal of, any person.
(2) � The National Council of Provinces may not exclude the public, including the media,
from a sitting of a committee unless it is reasonable and justifiable to do so in an
open and democratic society.
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