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Privileges of British Parliament Parliamentary Privileges: Erskine May has defined Parliamentary privileges as "the sum of the peculiar rights enjoyed by each House collectively as a constituent part of the High Court of Parliament, and by members of each House individually without which they could not discharge their functions, and which exceed those possessed by other bodies or individuals." Parliamentary privileges had their origin in the claim of monarchs that they would not be deprived of the services of their advisers and officials. Many of those advisers and officials sat in Parliament. If they could be harassed on their journey to the Parliament chamber or arrested by creditors, Crown and Parliament would have lost their services. To prevent this, a privilege of freedom from molestation and arrest was granted and enforced. Enforcement was initially by the Crown, but during the reign of Henry VIII, the Houses of Parliament began to assume jurisdiction themselves and