(1)Any person who claims that a person purporting to be an Assembly member is, or at any time since being returned as an Assembly member has been, disqualified from being—
(a)an Assembly member, or
(b)an Assembly member for the Assembly constituency or Assembly electoral region for which he purports to sit,
may apply to the High Court for a declaration to that effect.
(2)An application under subsection (1) in respect of any person may be made whether the grounds on which it is made are alleged to have subsisted at the time when he was returned or to have arisen subsequently.
(3)No declaration shall be made under this section in respect of any person—
(a)on grounds which subsisted when he was returned, if an election petition is pending or has been tried in which his disqualification on those grounds is or was in issue, or
(b)on any ground, if a resolution under section 13(3) requires that any disqualification incurred by him on that ground is to be disregarded.
(4)On an application under this section—
(a)the person in respect of whom the application is made shall be the respondent, and
(b)the applicant shall give such security for the costs of the proceedings as the court may direct.
(5)The amount of the security shall not exceed £5,000 or such other sum as the Secretary of State may by order specify.
(6)The decision of the court on an application under this section shall be final.