'Dawn Raids' – Development In The Treatment Of Legally Privileged Documents

On 2 February 2024, the High Court delivered judgment in Commission for Communications Regulation v Eircom Limited, which is of significance in relation to the treatment of legally privileged documents seized in the context of regulatory investigations and 'authorised officer visits' (sometimes referred to as 'dawn raids').

Background

The Commission for Communications Regulation ("ComReg") conducted an authorised officer visit / 'dawn raid' at the premises of Eircom Limited (trading as 'eir') from 31 May to 2 June 2023 pursuant to its powers under Part 3 of the Communications Regulation Act 2002 (as amended) (the "Act"). During the course of the dawn raid, ComReg seized over 320,000 documents, some of which ComReg accepted would likely either be irrelevant to its investigation or may be subject to legal privilege.