Event

Protection of Attorney-Client Privilege in Criminal Proceedings in the EU

Objective

This online seminar will analyse legal professional privilege and attorney-client privilege in criminal proceedings across the EU. Communication between lawyers and their clients is vital but it is under permanent pressure. In the EU, there is no common definition of what constitutes an immunity or privilege, so the precise meaning is left to national law.

Differences in legal privilege are especially evident in cross-border cases, where different EU instruments of mutual recognition require automatic execution of requests, with no option not to recognise or execute the request on the grounds of breach of immunity or privilege.
This seminar will look at the landscape for legal professional privilege in criminal proceedings in the EU, outline gaps in protection, present the perspective of the prosecution, and discuss the need for minimum standards in the EU.

Key topics

• The European legal framework
• The case law of the ECtHR
• The role of the prosecution 
• The situation in practice in selected EU Member States, especially regarding attorney-client communication 
• Procedural protection for lawyers 
• Internal investigations of companies 
• Ideas for joint principles
• The need for minimum standards in the EU?