The acquisition of the status of member of the European Parliament and the temporal and material scope of his immunity. The judgement of the Court of Justice in the Junqueras Vies case
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18042/cepc/rdce.65.06Keywords:
Parlamento Europeo, inmunidad, cuestión prejudicial, Tribunal Supremo, Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea.Abstract
The subject matter of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of last December, which resolves the questions referred for a preliminary ruling by the Supreme Court in relation to the appeal lodged by Mr Junqueras is, in essence, twofold. It has allowed the Court of Luxembourg to assess the criterion that makes it possible to identify when a person acquires the status of member of the European Parliament. This will be effective from the moment of the proclamation of the election results, without the need for any subsequent act. From an internal perspective, this means that the requirement to take the Act at the Central Electoral Commission becomes irrelevant in relation to obtaining the status of MEP.
The other main element of the sentence refers to the scope of the immunity, a functional prerogative that guarantees the independence of the own Parliament itself and its members against other powers. It produces its effects already covering the travel of MEPs to attend the constituent sitting or for the verification of credentials. This would therefore mean that the situation of provisional detention would have to be lifted or that immunity would have to be waived as soon as possible.
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