History
Legal professional privilege emerged in the 16th century; it was originally a privilege held by a lawyer rather than the lawyer's client.
Legal professional privilege in Australia developed from the English common law privilege.
The rationale for legal professional privilege in an Australian context has been explained in the following ways:
- encouraging full disclosure of information by a client to a lawyer;
- promoting compliance with the law by enabling lawyers to give full and considered advice on a client's legal obligations;
- discouraging litigation and encouraging alternative dispute resolution;
- protection of a client's privacy;
- protecting access to justice.
Justice Kirby of the High Court of Australia has described legal professional privilege as an "important human right deserving of special protection for that reason".
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) has adopted the terminology 'client legal privilege', as opposed to 'legal professional privilege', on the basis that the privilege is held by the client and not the lawyer. 'Client legal privilege' is the terminology used in Commonwealth and state evidence statutes. However, the common law privilege remains almost universally described by courts as being 'legal professional privilege'.
Read more about this topic: Legal Professional Privilege In Australia
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