Private communication between lawyers as evidence in a judicial process: A comparative journey 1

Abstract

In professional negotiations between lawyers, it is usual to share information, data and documents that could be protected with legal privilege. This paper analyses, from a comparative perspective, the possible evidentiary use of the documents that a lawyer obtains from the opposing lawyer in a subsequent judicial process. A conflict is presented here between two fundamental procedural guarantees: The right to evidence of the party that possesses the documents and the right to defence and legal privilege of the party that delivered them in the prior negotiation to the lawsuit. The solution provided by different legal systems is therefore not always straightforward, because some legal systems do protect legal privilege and others protect the right to evidence, with different solutions for the rights put in balance here.