Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes

1. S. 547Introduction

1.1. The Scope and Development of Professional Privileges

The concept of professional privileges is one which has been recognised and upheld in the domestic legislation of the majority of developed legal systems. Its application was firmly accepted in English law as early as the 16th century, as confirmed in the earliest decision on the matter, Berd v. Lovelace, which recognised a lawyer’s privilege against the disclosure of ‘knowledge touching the cause at variance.’

At the time, the notion was based on the concept of the honour of the lawyer, by preventing the possibility of any testimony by a lawyer against his client. Today, professional privileges effectively cater for the protection of communications between lawyers and their clients (in some countries this privilege may sometimes also be extended to other professions). It provides the person with the power to refuse to disclose certain communications to any third parties. It is usually considered to be an absolute right and one which may only be overridden in very limited circumstances (such as fraud).

As it has evolved, the concept of professional privilege is now generally accepted to apply to (1) a communicati...