Strode's Case 3 Howell's State Trials 294 is one of the earliest and most important English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 cases dealing with parliamentary privilege

Parliamentary privilege

Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made related to one's duties as a legislator. It is common in countries whose constitutions are...

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Facts

Richard Strode

Richard Strode (c. 1480–1522)

Richard Strode was a 16th-century Member of Parliament for Plympton, Devon who was also involved in the tin mining industry...

 was a Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 from Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, England. In 1512, he introduced a bill to alleviate the harsh working conditions of tin miners on Dartmoor

Dartmoor tin-mining

The Dartmoor tin mining industry is thought to have originated in pre-Roman times, and continued right through to the 20th century. From the 12th century onwards tin mining was regulated by a Stannary Parliament which had its own laws....

. However, the local Stannary court had jurisdiction to enforce a law against the obstruction of tin mining and Strode was prosecuted and imprisoned before he could travel to Westminster

Parliament of England

The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...

 to present his bill.

Strode's Act

In response, parliament passed Strode's Act, now named the Privilege of Parliament Act 1512 (4 Hen. 8 c. 8):

...AND over that be it enacted by the said authority that all suits, accusations, condemnations, executions, fines, amerciaments, punishments, corrections, grievances, charges and impositions put or had or hereafter to be put or had unto or upon the said Richard [Strode] and to every other of the person or persons afore specified, that now be of this present parliament or that of any parliament hereafter shall be, for any bill speaking, reasoning, or declaring of any matter or matters concerning the parliament to be convened and treated of be utterly void and of none effect. And over that be it enacted by the said authority that if the said Richard Strode or any of all the said other person or persons hereafter be vexed, troubled or otherwise charged for any causes as is afore said, that then he or they and every of them so vexed or troubled of and for the same to have action upon the case against every such person or persons so vexing or troubling any contrary to this ordinance and provision, in the which action the party grieved shall recover treble damages and costs, and that no protection, essoin, nor wager of law in the said action in any wise be admitted nor received.

Constitutional implications

In 1629, in the prosecution of Sir John Eliot

John Eliot (statesman)

Sir John Eliot was an English statesman who was serially imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he eventually died, by King Charles I for advocating the rights and privileges of Parliament.-Family and early life:...

 (R v. Eliot, Hollis and Valentine), the court held that Strode's Act was a private act

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 and applied to Strode only and not to other MPs. However, in 1667, both the Commons

House of Commons of England

The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...

 and the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

 carried resolutions declaring Strode's Act a general law:

... and that it extends to indemnify all and every the Members of both Houses of Parliament, in all Parliaments, for and touching all Bills, speaking, reasoning, or declaring of any Matter or Matters in and concerning the Parliament, to be communed and treated of, and is only a declaratory law of the antient and necessary Rights and Privileges of Parliament.

This establishes the common law that privilege extends beyond mere protection against action for defamation or treason

Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

. The law was subsequently codified as Art. 9 of the Bill of Rights 1689

Bill of Rights 1689

The Bill of Rights or the Bill of Rights 1688 is an Act of the Parliament of England.The Bill of Rights was passed by Parliament on 16 December 1689. It was a re-statement in statutory form of the Declaration of Right presented by the Convention Parliament to William and Mary in March 1689 ,...

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