(1)If a person who is disqualified from being an Assembly member is returned as an Assembly member, the person’s return is void and the person’s seat is vacant.
(2)If a person who is disqualified from being an Assembly member for a particular Assembly constituency or Assembly electoral region is returned as an Assembly member for that Assembly constituency or Assembly electoral region, the person’s return is void and the person’s seat is vacant.
(3)If a person who is an Assembly member becomes disqualified—
(a)from being an Assembly member, or
(b)from being an Assembly member for the Assembly constituency or Assembly electoral region for which the person is sitting,
the person ceases to be an Assembly member (so that the person’s seat is vacant).
(4)Subsections (1) to (3) have effect subject to any resolution of the Assembly under section 17(3).
(5)In addition, subsection (3) has effect subject to—
(a)section 141 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (c. 20) (mental illness), and
(b)section 427 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (c. 45) (bankruptcy etc.).
(6)If, in consequence of a provision mentioned in subsection (5), the seat of a person who is disqualified from being an Assembly member is not vacant, the person does not cease to be an Assembly member until the person’s seat becomes vacant.
(7)But for any period for which the person is disqualified but the person’s seat is not vacant—
(a)the person must not participate in any Assembly proceedings, and
(b)any of the person’s other rights and privileges as an Assembly member may be withdrawn by the Assembly.
(8)The validity of any Assembly proceedings is not affected by the disqualification of any person—
(a)from being an Assembly member, or
(b)from being an Assembly member for the Assembly constituency or Assembly electoral region for which the person purports to sit.