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Version status: Amended
Version date: 27 June 2023 - onwards
Version 5 of 5

189 Meaning of "privileged disclosure"

This format of the bill is taken from the text of stage 1st reading published on 22 September 2022 by House of Commons

(1) For the purposes of sections 187 and 188, "privileged disclosure" means a disclosure of information made by a professional legal adviser or relevant professional adviser in circumstances where the information disclosed came to the adviser in privileged circumstances.

(2) Information comes to a professional legal adviser or relevant professional adviser in privileged circumstances if it is communicated or given to the adviser -

(a) by (or by a representative of) a client of the adviser in connection with the giving by that person of legal advice to the client,

(b) by (or by a representative of) a person seeking legal advice from the adviser, or

(c) by a person in connection with legal proceedings or contemplated legal proceedings.

(3) For the purposes of this section a "relevant professional adviser" means an accountant, auditor or tax adviser who is a member of a professional body which is established for accountants, auditors or tax advisers (as the case may be) and which makes provision for -

(a) testing the competence of those seeking admission to membership of such a body as a condition for such admission, and

(b) imposing and maintaining professional and ethical standards for its members, as well as imposing sanctions for non-compliance with those standards.