Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

False definition

What does False mean? False describes, in legal practice, a statement, representation or document that is untrue or misleading. Depending on context, it may connote deceit (knowingly or recklessly untrue) or simple error (erroneous). Usage is descriptive and context‑specific; legislation and case law typically define the consequences of falsity rather than the term itself. In criminal law, offences commonly require a false statement plus a mental element. In England and Wales, a “false representation” under the Fraud Act 2006 is one that is untrue or misleading and the person knows that it is, or might be. Perjury and false statutory declarations turn on knowingly making...

UK parliamentary privilege: Article 9 Bill of Rights 1688, exclusive cognisance, proceedings in Parliament and judicial use of Hansard—scope, limits and leading cases

Published by a LexisNexis Public Law expert

Practice notes

Perhaps the most important of the statutory facets of parliamentary privilege is the freedom of speech within Parliament, safeguarded by Article 9 of the Bill of Rights 1688.

Exclusive cognisance

It is often said that Parliament’s prime privilege is the sole authority to set, regulate and determine the validity of its own procedures.

Writing in the eighteenth century, Blackstone observed that the entirety of parliamentary law and custom stems from a single precept: matters concerning either House should be examined, debated and decided by that House alone, and nowhere else. Blackstone, Commentaries (17th ed. (1830)), vol. 1, p. 163

In R v Chaytor, Lord Phillips explained that ‘exclusive cognisance’ denotes domains that the courts have accepted are for Parliament, not the judiciary, to resolve. It captures not Parliament in the abstract but each House’s unique entitlement to conduct its business free from intervention by the other House or from outside Parliament. The boundaries of exclusive cognisance arise from understanding between the two Houses and the courts as to what lies within the exclusive province of the former...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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