Editing Legal immunity (section)

==Types==
===Immunity of government leaders===
Many forms of immunity are granted to [[politician|government leaders]] to [[Reign|rule]] over the world, [[continent]], [[nation]],  [[province]],  [[urban area]] and [[Rural|rural area]] without fear of being sued or charged with a crime for so doing: 
*[[Sovereign immunity]], the prevention of lawsuits or prosecution against rulers or governments without their given consent
*[[Sovereign immunity in the United States]] bars suit against federal, state, and tribal governments, which cannot be sued without their consent.  Governmental consent to be sued is expressed through legislation as a limited waiver of sovereign immunity  
*[[Parliamentary immunity]], immunity granted to [[Politician|government leaders]] during their tenure and in the course of their duties
*[[Speech or Debate Clause]], a provision in the [[United States Constitution]] that provides immunity to members of Congress for statements made in either house
*[[Immunity from prosecution (international law)]], exclusion of elected officials from prosecution under international law
*[[State immunity]], principle of international law that the government of a state is not amenable before the courts of another state

===Immunity of government officials===
*[[Judicial immunity]], the absolute (sovereign) immunity of a judiciary in the course of their official duties
*[[Qualified immunity]], in the United States, sovereign immunity of all government officials and government employees performing tasks as part of the government's actions
*[[Absolute immunity]], a type of sovereign immunity for all government officials and government employees that confers total immunity when acting in the course of their duties
*[[Diplomatic immunity]], agreement between sovereign governments to exclude diplomats from local laws because grants of immunity are particularly important in intergovernmental relations, where traditions have arisen to prevent the [[civil servant|federal civil servant]]s of a country's [[diplomacy|foreign service]] cadre from being harassed by their host countries.

Such immunities may be granted by law (statutory or constitutional) or by [[treaty]].

===Immunity of resident citizens of a country participating in the legal process===
*[[Amnesty law]], a law that provides immunity for past crimes
*[[Spousal privilege]], also called spousal immunity, protects a spouse from testifying against the defendant
*[[Witness immunity]], immunity granted to a [[witness]] in exchange for [[testimony]]

===Immunity of private officials===
*[[Reporter's privilege]], a limited [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] right many jurisdictions by statutory law or judicial decision have by which journalists may not be prosecuted for protecting their confidential sources from [[discovery (law)|discovery]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lexmedia.com.au/2010/10/journalist-shield-laws.html|title=LexMedia|work=lexmedia.com.au|access-date=2015-08-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907140217/http://www.lexmedia.com.au/2010/10/journalist-shield-laws.html|archive-date=2015-09-07|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Immunity of nonprofit organizations ===
*[[Charitable immunity]], immunity from liability granted to charities in many countries from the 19th century to the mid-20th century

Such immunities may be granted by law or, for witness immunity, by [[prosecutor]]s or other authorities on a case-by-case basis, commonly as an agreement with the witnesses.