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.

Approved by the House of Commons on 14 May 2002. It replaces the code and guide published as HCP 688, session 1995-96, ISBN 0105507466).

This document is the Northern Ireland Assembly's Code of Conduct together with the Guide to the Rules Relating to the Conduct of Members. The purpose of Code of Conduct of the Northern Ireland Assembly (the Code) is to assist Members in the discharge of their obligations to the Assembly, their constituents and the public at large. The Code of Conduct includes the principles of conduct and the rules to the Code of Conduct. The purpose of the Guide to the Rules Relating to the Conduct of Members (the Guide) is to assist Members in discharging the duties placed upon them by the Code of Conduct agreed by the Assembly. The Guide includes an explanation of the requirements in relation to the registration of interests, declaration of interests and the Advocacy Rule. Also included is a discrete Complaints Procedure and the Resolution of the Assembly relating to the Conduct of Members of 14 December 1999. Members are still bound by the terms of this resolution, except for where its requirements have been amended by this new Code and Guide.

The Code of Conduct provides a set of rules to which Members must adhere. Some of these rules are supported by more detailed guidance. Those set out in this Guide relate to the registration and declaration of interests, and to paid lobbying. The Guide also sets out the procedure for inquiries by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. The Guide to the Rules and amendments to it are approved by means of Resolutions of the House of Commons. This Guide therefore carries the authority of the House. The House has agreed that its previous resolutions in relation to the conduct of Members shall be read and given effect in a way which is compatible with the Code of Conduct and this Guide to the Rules relating to the conduct of Members. The Guide is structured as follows: (1) Chapter 1 of the Guide explains the requirements in relation to the registration of Members' financial interests; (2) Chapter 2 explains the requirements in relation to the declaration of interests in proceedings of the House and on other occasions; (3) Chapter 3 sets out the restrictions on Members engaging in lobbying for reward or consideration; (4) Chapter 4 provides an outline of the Commissioner's remit, and sets out the procedures in relation to the Commissioner's inquiries.

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.

Conduct of Mr Gregory Campbell : Seventh report of session 2006-07, report and appendices, together with formal Minutes