Commentary on provisions of Act Section 3: Legal privileges etc
Section 3 provides for the Commission to have certain privileges and immunities.
	Subsection (1) provides for the Commission to have immunity from suit and legal process. This means that it will not be subject to legal claims or legal process, including civil claims and judicial review.
	Subsection (2) provides for the Commission’s official archives and premises to be inviolable in the same way as inviolability is accorded to a diplomatic mission as set out in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961. This means, for example, that the Commission’s premises cannot be subject to search or requisition.
	However, there may be instances where the Commission decides it is appropriate to waive these immunities in a particular case. For instance, if a staff member wanted to make a claim to an employment tribunal, the Commission could choose to waive its immunity from legal process to allow the staff member to pursue the claim. Subsections (1) and (2) therefore allow the Commission to waive these protections.
	Subsection (3) enables the Secretary of State to make regulations to confer further privileges on the Commission, in addition to those conferred by subsections (1) and (2), provided that they are listed in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the International Organisations Act 1968 ("the 1968 Act"). Subsection (3) also permits the Secretary of State to make regulations to confer on Commissioners, staff of the Commission (including relevant other persons such as agents of the Commission), and members of their families who form part of their household, the privileges and immunities set out in Parts 2, 3 and 5 of Schedule 1 to the 1968 Act with any modifications required. The Secretary of State can also make provision in the regulations for the waiver of these privileges and immunities. These regulations are subject to the negative procedure.
	Similar provision to that contained in subsection (3) was made in respect of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains and the Independent Monitoring Commission (see section 2(1) of the Northern Ireland (Location of Victims Remains) Act 1999 and section 1(2) of the Northern Ireland (Monitoring Commission etc.) Act 2003 respectively).