The Committee on Standards and Privileges published its Third Report of Session 2012-13, Proposed Revisions to the Guide to the Rules relating to the conduct of Members1 on 4 December 2012 (HC 636, ISBN 9780215050939). There have been a number of developments since that report. The most significant is the publication of the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) Fourth Evaluation Round Report on Corruption Prevention in respect of members of Parliament, judges and prosecutors in the UK (http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/greco/evaluations/round4/GrecoEval4(2012)2_UnitedKingdom_EN.pdf). The GRECO report positively noted that: The United Kingdom has taken important steps to strive for improvement in the prevention of corruption in all three sectors of activity subject to the present evaluation. These steps are in addition to the fact that Members of Parliament, judges and prosecutors do not have any general immunity from prosecution for criminal conduct. It made several recommendations directed at the legislative assemblies in the United Kingdom. There was close involvement in the process which meant that the Committee and the Commissioner were able to consider the GRECO recommendations in the course of revising the Guide to the Rules, even though the report itself had not yet been published. The current report presents and discusses each of the GRECO recommendations, specifically those relating the House of Commons. It also covers revisions to the seven principles of public life recently recommended by the Committee on Standards in Public Life, the penalties applicable in case of breaches of the rules, and the date on which any revised Guide should come into force.

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.

The purpose of this Guide is to assist Members in discharging the duties placed upon them by the Code of Conduct agreed by the House. It replaces the Guide approved by the House on 14 May 2002 (HC 841 (2001-02)). While previous editions of the Rules derived their authority from Resolutions of the House rather than from statute or common law, the attention of Members is drawn to the fact that in respect of registration categories 4, 5, and 6, there are in addition requirements imposed by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) as amended by the Electoral Administration Act 2006. The Guide is divided into four sections dealing with: (1) Registration of interests; (2) Declaration of interests; (3) Lobbying for reward or consideration; (4) Procedure for complaints.

The public will be given the right to recall their local MP if they are found to have engaged in serious wrongdoing under proposals announced in "Recall of MPs Draft Bill " ( ISBN 9780101824125, Cm.8241) published today. The proposals fulfil a commitment made in the Programme for Government as part of the political reform agenda. In the draft Bill, the Government is proposing to introduce a power of recall, allowing voters to force a by-election having had a petition signed by 10% of his or her constituents. At the last general election the manifestos of all three of the main parties included a commitment to establish a recall mechanism. The draft Bill is being published for pre-legislative scrutiny and sets out two triggers for a recall petition: firstly where an MP is convicted in the UK of an offence and receives a custodial sentence of 12 months or less, and secondly where the House of Commons resolves, through a vote by MPs, that a recall petition should be opened. The first trigger will close a gap in the existing legislation whereby MPs are only disqualified if they receive a custodial sentence of more than 12 months. The second trigger is an additional disciplinary power for the House of Commons, which for the first time allows constituents to have their say in deciding whether their MP should stay in office. The petition will be administered by the local returning officer and will be open for a period of 8 weeks. If 10% of eligible constituents sign the petition, the MP's seat will be vacated and a by-election will be held.

First published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.