A Solution To Issues Of Privilege In International Arbitration? The IPBA Guidelines

Introduction

Most jurisdictions protect the confidentiality of communications between the lawyer and the client, which is commonly referred to as legal privilege. However, in the field of international arbitration, the resolution of issues of privilege has become unpredictable and hard to navigate due to differences in the scope and nature of privilege in common and civil law jurisdictions, as well as the lack of clarity on the applicable rules on privilege. The following will elaborate on the challenges of privilege claims in arbitration and provide an overview of the first-ever comprehensive set of transnational rules that bridge the common and civil law divide on privilege: the Inter-Pacific Bar Association Guidelines on Privilege and Attorney Secrecy in International Arbitration (IPBA Guidelines). The authors of this article focus on the scope of application of the IPBA Guidelines, the types of privileges they provide for, and exceptions to this privilege.