Privilege/without prejudice

This overview is a guide and introduction to our suite of documents on privilege and takes you through the main principles in this area.

Privilege is, often, one of the most challenging issues a practitioner faces before and during litigation proceedings and, more particularly, in a disclosure exercise. It encompasses legal professional privilege, namely legal advice privilege and litigation privilege; common interest privilege; joint privilege and without prejudice privilege.

Privilege—general principles

In English law, privilege is a fundamental right allowing a party, or its successors in title, to withhold from production certain documents. For an introduction to the general principles of privilege in civil proceedings, see Practice Note: Privilege—general principles.

Privilege can be asserted over documents which fall into two different categories:

•
legal professional privilege (LPP), ie:
1. ◦
  legal advice privilege, see Practice Note: Legal professional privilege in civil proceedings—Legal advice privilege
2. ◦
  litigation privilege, see Practice Note: Legal professional privilege in civil proceedings—Litigation privilege
•
other forms of privilege, including:
1. ◦
  common interest privilege, see Practice Note: Privilege—joint and common interest privilege—Common interest privilege
2. ◦
  joint privilege (or joint interest

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest Dispute Resolution News

Court of Appeal guidance on class actions, lead claims, global claims and disclosure (Alame v Shell)

Dispute Resolution analysis: The Court of Appeal has given guidance on the proper procedure for group litigation on environmental issues. Allowing the claimants’ appeal against a decision requiring the claim to be pleaded as a ‘global’ or ‘all-or-nothing’ claim, the court held this was a ‘paradigm example’ of litigation which should be progressed by lead cases. The court also highlighted the importance of disclosure in placing parties on an ‘equal footing’. While the court should be alert to disallow ‘fishing expeditions’ on disclosure, it is a powerful tool for achieving justice in cases where there is a significant asymmetry of information. Written by Harriet Campbell, senior knowledge lawyer at Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP.

Minutes of the CPR Committee meeting—1 November 2024

The minutes of the CPR Committee (CPRC) meeting of 1 November 2024 (conducted in a hybrid format at The Rolls Building (Royal Courts of Justice) and via video conference) cover a number of issues including the Law Commission consultation on the law of contempt, Closed Material Procedure, Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, the outcome of the Workplace Claims consultation and costs budgeting light.

Online Procedure Rule Committee minutes—2024 in review

The Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC), established under the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (JRACA 2022), creates rules governing the practice and procedure for specific types of online court and tribunal proceedings across the Civil, Family and Tribunal jurisdictions (CFT). The OPRC holds regular meetings, for which the minutes are published. This News Analysis summarises the key developments in 2024 and looks forward to potential future developments.

Dispute Resolution weekly highlights—19 December 2024

This week's edition of Dispute Resolution weekly highlights includes the Online Procedure Rule Committee’s minutes for 2024, the Minutes of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee of 1 November 2024 and the Court of Appeal decision in Bangs v FM Conway Ltd (relief from sanctions); dates for your diary; details of our most recently published content; and other information of general interest to dispute resolution practitioners.

View Dispute Resolution by content type :

News