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ARTICLE · 18 AUGUST 2026

Shareholder Privilege Rule No Longer Automatically Applies In Ireland

The Irish High Court has ruled that shareholders no longer have an automatic right to access a company's privileged legal advice, abolishing the shareholder rule that previously allowed such disclosure. This landmark decision aligns Irish law with recent developments in England, Wales, and Bermuda, fundamentally reshaping the relationship between corporate privilege and shareholder information rights.

IrelandLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration

The shareholder rule, the legal principle preventing a company from relying on legal advice privilege as against its shareholders, is no longer part of Irish law following the decision of the Irish High Court in Globoforce Group PLC (trading as Workhuman) v Luxembourg Investment Company 276 SARL and others [2026] IEHC 397.

The Irish High Court reached the same conclusion as the Privy Council in Jardine Strategic Ltd v Oasis Investments II Master Fund Ltd (No 2) (Bermuda) [2025] UKPC 34, which abolished the rule in Bermuda and England and Wales (discussed in our previous insight here).

Shareholders challenge the company’s privilege claim

The defendants (comprising a shareholder in the plaintiff and indirect investors and their officers) challenged the plaintiff’s claim to privilege over certain documents, arguing that Irish law entitles shareholders to the production of legal advice given to the company and that the shareholder company relationship is “one of a group of recognised

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