The General Nature of Legal Professional Privilege
Legal professional privilege is the principal reason why inspection of documents is refused, and is regarded as a fundamental principle of justice. It is an exception to the general cards on the table outlook of the CPR. Privilege discloses a substantive right to keep privileged material confidential not only in the context of litigation, but generally. Privilege extends beyond a mere evidential rule, and has been regarded as a fundamental principle of justice:
The client must be sure that what he tells his lawyer in confidence will never be revealed without his consent. Legal profession privilege is thus much more than an ordinary rule of evidence, limited in its application to the facts of a particular case. It is a fundamental condition on which the administration of justice as a whole rests.It is a fundamental human right recognised by the English common law, and by the European Court of Human Rights, which has held it to be part of the right to privacy guaranteed by Article 8 of the Convention
Privilege is absolute, in the sense that once it is established, it may not be weighed against any other countervailing public interest factor, but may only be overridden expressly by statute.
Read more about this topic: Legal Professional Privilege In England And Wales
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