Commentary on Sections Section 6: Interpretation
41.Subsection (1) defines membership of the House of Lords, for the purposes of the Act, as entitlement to receive writs of summons to attend the House.
42.Subsection (2) states that in determining if a person is entitled to a writ, disqualifications on conviction for treason, insolvency grounds or where the person is an MEP are to be ignored. This is because under the legislation relating to these disqualifications a person is said to be no longer entitled to receive a writ of summons or to sit and vote in the House of Lords. The effect of subsection (2) is that the Act applies to peers subject to such disqualifications – and so they can, for example, resign as a member.
43.Subsection (3) confirms that the term ‘peer’ includes a person upon whom a dignity has been conferred by virtue of appointment as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (a Law Lord) – see section 6 of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876, which first provided for Lords of Appeal in Ordinary.