The portion of the lawsuit against the Senate hinges on Mike Duffy's arguments that senators acted unconstitutionally and violated his charter rights when they decided to suspend him without pay in 2013.
The Senate will argue that the court has no jurisdiction to judge the decision senators made to suspend Duffy without pay for almost two years, citing the shield of parliamentary privilege -- a centuries-old right designed to protect legislators in the course of doing their jobs.
Senators who supported Duffy's suspension stuck fast to the argument that the Senate could govern its internal affairs and dole out administrative penalties without any worry about judicial review.
Duffy's lawyer will argue otherwise. Lawrence Greenspon has previously said parliamentary privilege applies to decisions and debates regarding legislation, not when punishing a fellow senator.
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