The EU Court of First Instance refuses to extend the protection of legal privilege in connection with EU competition investigations to communications between companies and their in‐house lawyers (Akzo Nobel)

Bouchez El Ghozi, Philippe; Goldsworthy, Donna; Thomas, Miranda

Article précédent The Polish Act on creation and operation of large surface retail facilities deals with land use restriction as a barrier to entry in the retail distribution markets (Act of 11 May 2007) Article suivant A Dutch Court applies for an ECJ preliminary ruling on the application of Art. 15.3 Reg. n° 1/2003 by the EC Commission within the framework of a tax case raising only indirectly EC competition provisions (X B.V. Belanghebbende/Inspecteur Belastingdienst)

12 Sep 2007

The EU Court of First Instance refuses to extend the protection of legal privilege in connection with EU competition investigations to communications between companies and their in‐house lawyers (Akzo Nobel)

KEYWORDS

Reference

EU Court of First Instance, Akzo Nobel, Case T-127/03, 17 September 2007

The second‐highest court in Europe ruled recently that attorney‐client privilege does not apply to certain communications between companies and their in‐house counsel. In its ruling in Akzo Nobel Chemicals Limited v. Commission on 17 September 2007, the European Court of First Instance (ʺthe Courtʺ) has refused to extend the protection of legal privilege in connection with European competition investigations to communications between companies and their in‐house lawyers. In an antitrust case, a Dutch chemical company and lawyersʹ groups sought to exclude from evidence documents seized in a 2003 dawn investigatory raid of Akzo Nobelʹs offices in Manchester, England, arguing that attorney‐client privilege applied. The documents, over which the protection of attorney‐client privilege was

L'accès à cet article est réservé aux abonnés

Déjà abonné ? Identifiez-vous

L’accès à cet article est réservé aux abonnés.

Lire gratuitement un article

Vous pouvez lire cet article gratuitement en vous inscrivant.

Version PDF

Auteurs

Philippe Bouchez El Ghozi
Paul Hastings (Paris)

France 1 contribution 273 visites
Donna Goldsworthy
Pitmans (London)

Royaume-Uni 1 contribution 273 visites
Miranda Thomas
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Sydney)

Australie 1 contribution 273 visites

Citation

Philippe Bouchez El Ghozi, Donna Goldsworthy, Miranda Thomas, The EU Court of First Instance refuses to extend the protection of legal privilege in connection with EU competition investigations to communications between companies and their in‐house lawyers (Akzo Nobel), 12 septembre 2007, e-Competitions September 2007, Art. N° 74797

Visites 273