Videoconferencing in the Parliamentary Setting‪.‬

Videoconference technology allows parties located at the opposite ends of the globe to experience simultaneous two-way video and audio communication. In addition to its tremendous implications for the business world, the technology is gradually having a similar impact in the parliamentary context. This raises three broad issues in the area of parliamentary law and privilege. The first is whether parliamentary privilege applies to members of committees who participate in videoconferences. The second is whether videoconferencing creates a sufficient "physical presence" to entitle members to be counted as part of quorum and to enable them to move motions and vote. The third is whether parliamentary privilege attaches to witnesses who testify before committees by videoconference. Charles Robert is a Deputy Principal Clerk and Deborah Palumbo is Senate Legal Counsel with the Senate Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel Office. This is a revised version of an article presented to the 1998 Professional Development Seminar of the Association of Clerks-at-the-Table in Canada, and to the 1998 annual meeting of the Association of Parliamentary Counsel and the Association of Legislative Counsel.