Members of the Shura Council shall enjoy two types of immunity, substantive immunity relating to the opinions and ideas expressed by the member in the Council during the exercise of his legislative role, in addition to the procedural immunity that’s related to criminal proceedings against the member and that they should only be taken after following the procedures stipulated under the internal regulation of the Council:
- In the course of the session -Except for the case of a flagrante delicto-, the member may not be arrested, investigated, inspected, imprisoned or any other criminal procedure without prior authorization from the Council.
Outside the Council’s session, such actions shall be taken by an authorization from the Council’s President. - The Council shall be informed of any actions that may be taken during its meeting and shall be informed at its first meeting of any action taken during the annual Council holiday against any of its members.
- The request for permission to waive the immunity of the member shall be submitted to the Council’s President by the Minister of Justice, and an official copy of the case papers, for which action is required, shall be attached to the application. The President shall refer the stated request to the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee for its consideration and sharing its view on it.
- The member may not waive immunity without the permission of the Council, the Council may give permission to the Member upon his request to hear his statements if he is charged even it was before his submission of a request to waive the immunity. In this case, no further action may be taken against the member, except after a decision from the Council was issued to authorize it.
- The Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee, or the Council, shall not examine the availability or lack of evidence to convict the criminal charge, and the investigation shall be limited to how vexatious the prosecution is, and the verification on whether it is intended to prevent the member from performing his parliamentary responsibilities in the Council.
- Criminal proceedings are always authorized when it is proven that the procedure is not intended to prevent the member from performing his parliamentary responsibilities in the Council.