The privilege of peerage is the body of special privileges belonging to members of the British peerage. It is distinct from parliamentary privilege, which applies only to those peers serving in the House of Lords and the members of House of Commons. Only three survived into the 20th century: the right to be tried by other peers of the realm instead of juries of commoners, freedom from arrest in civil cases, and access to the Sovereign to advise him or her on matters of state.
About Privilege of peerage in brief
The privilege of peerage is the body of special privileges belonging to members of the British peerage. It is distinct from parliamentary privilege, which applies only to those peers serving in the House of Lords and the members of House of Commons. The privileges have been lost and eroded over time. Only three survived into the 20th century: the right to be tried by other peers of the realm instead of juries of commoners, freedom from arrest in civil cases, and access to the Sovereign to advise him or her on matters of state. Since 1999, hereditary peers of England, Scotland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom who are not members of Lords may stand for election to the Commons. Any peer issuing a disclaimer under the provisions of the Peerage Act 1963 loses all privileges of Peerage. The privilege ofpeerage also extends to wives and widows of peers. A peeress by marriage loses the privilege upon marrying a commoner, but a peeress suo jure does not. The right of peers to trial by their own order was formalized during the 14th century. In 1442, after an ecclesiastical court found Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester, guilty of witchcraft and banished her to the Isle of Man, a statute was enacted granting peeresses the right of trial by peers. In the Lord High Steward’s Court, a group of Lords Triers, sitting under the chairmanship of the HighSteward, acted as judge and jury.
By custom, a minimum of 12 Lords acted as jury, but in fact the number ranged from 20 to 35. The practice was ended by the Treason Act of 1695, passed during the reign of King William III, which required that all peers be summoned as Triers. All subsequent trials were held before the full House of the Lords, the President of the Court and the entire Court of the Lord high Steward, thereby favouring the verdict. This practice was sometimes subject to abuse, with the Crown and subject to the power of those peers who agreed with the monarch’s position. The Lords Spiritual do not have the privilege ofPeerage as, at least since 1621, they have been Lords of Parliament, and not peers. Just as commoners have a right to trial by a jury of their equals, peers and peeresses formerly had a right. The right to sit in the Houses of Lords is separate from the privilege, and is held by only some peers. Scottish peers from the Acts of Union 1707 and Irish peers from the Act of Union 1800, therefore, have theilege of peerages. From 1800, Irish peers have had the right. to stand forelection to the House. of Commons but they lose the privilege for the duration of their service in the lower House. If a peer is found guilty of misconduct in public office, they lose all privileges.
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This page is based on the article Privilege of peerage published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 04, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
