Basic Law: The Government (Amendment – Termination of the Tenure of the Prime Minister or a Minister Due to the Filing of an Indictment) Bill

What does the bill do?

The bill provides that the Prime Minister, a minister and a deputy minister will be regarded as having resigned from the day an indictment is filed against them, if an indictment was filed for a felony offense, for serious corruption offenses, or for an offense under a certain section of the Penal Law, and its circumstances involve moral turpitude. The amendment changes the existing rule that requires a prior conviction for the termination of tenure. This bill also implements Supreme Court rulings, and the threshold defined by the substance of the indictment is meant to balance between the defendant's presumption of innocence and the public interest in separating the affairs of state from personal legal affairs.