Court Of Appeal Rules On Various Privilege Issues

A recent appeal judgment considered the iniquity exception, as well as litigation and legal advice privilege

In Al Sadeq v Dechert (2023), broadly, the claimant is suing a law firm hired by a third party that, he alleges, committed serious wrongdoing in the course of an investigation and led to him being (among other things) unlawfully detained in the Middle East. His challenges to the defendants' assertion of privilege over some of its documents failed at first instance, but his appeal has now been allowed, in part.

Iniquity exception

The Court of Appeal held that the iniquity exception, which prevents a party claiming legal professional privilege, does not only apply where a document is created in furtherance of (or is part of) a fraud or wrongdoing. It can apply to any document which reports on or reveals the fraud or wrongdoing. However, it is also still necessary to show that there has been an abuse of the lawyer or client relationship for the iniquity