Question of Privilege
June 23, 1977
Premature disclosure of committee proceedings
Hon. James Jerome
Speaker of the House
Ruling Text
The premature publication of this document interferes with the work of the Members in their committee because it "prejudices the secure identity of witnesses and people who co-operated with the committee. It prejudiced in that way probably the work of future committees, with respect to the kind of co-operation we hope our House of Commons committees will secure." Before treating the premature publication of documents as an absolute question of privilege in every case, it would be more suitable to refer the matter to the Special Committee of the House on Rights and Immunities with the express mandate that it clarify the problems arising from it and report back to the House.
Edit Metadata
Holding
"The general issue of premature publication of committee documents should be referred to a special committee for study and clarification, rather than being treated as an absolute question of privilege on a case-by-case basis."
AI Summary
The Speaker rules that the systemic issue of premature publication of committee documents should be studied by a special committee rather than being treated as an absolute question of privilege in every instance.
AI Analysis
- Outcome
- Other
- Tone
- Educational
- Procedural Stage
- Not specified
- Significance
Low
High