Luxembourg
Communications between lawyers and clients are in principle protected by professional secrecy. Article 35 of the law of 10 August 2011 on the legal profession (loi sur la profession d'avocat) (the 2011 Law) sets out the rules on professional secrecy.
The obligation of professional secrecy is also contained in the following: (i) the internal regulation of 9 January 2013 of the Luxembourg Bar (Règlement intérieur de l'Ordre des Avocats du Barreau de Luxembourg) (the 2013 Regulation) and (ii) the internal regulation of 22 April 2005 of the Diekirch Bar (the 2005 Regulation).
The professional secrecy of the lawyer is a matter of public order. It is general, absolute and unlimited in time, except as provided otherwise by law.
Article 458 of the Criminal Code (Code pénal) provides that violation of professional secrecy may be subject to a jail sentence of eight days to six months and a fine of €500 to €5,000. The same provision provides for two exceptions to the obligation of professional secrecy:
- when one is called to testify in court; and
- when one is required by law to disclose certain information.
Also, under the law of 12 November 2004 on the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, as amended, the disclosure in good faith of any relevant information to the Luxembourg competent authorities does not constitute a breach of the duty to maintain professional secrecy and does not result in liability of any kind for the lawyer making the disclosure.
In addition to criminal sanctions, the lawyer may face (i) disciplinary sanctions, from the bar, ranging from a warning to a ban on practising the profession (ii) as well as being held contractually liable by the injured client.
Legal professional privilege in the context of civil litigation
The judge is authorized to order the production of documents in both civil and commercial litigation (article 280 of the Nouveau code de procédure civile).
However, a judge may not order any lawyers participating in proceedings to produce documents, as this would be contrary to the right of defence and the right to a fair trial. In the absence of any specific or implied exception, the issue arises as to whether a judge could order a lawyer who had been instructed previously by a client but who was not currently retained by that client, to produce certain documents (such orders have been made in respect of banking institutions who were holding client documents).
A lawyer may be called as a witness by the court (as permitted by the Criminal Code), in which case they will have to determine whether the facts on which they are questioned are protected by professional secrecy and if so, should only disclose to the court the circumstances in which the information came to their knowledge, so as to allow the court to determine whether professional secrecy applies.
Legal professional privilege in the context of criminal investigations
Legal professional privilege also applies in the context of criminal proceedings (see Scope of legal professional privilege).
A lawyer who is subject to criminal proceedings, may disclose information covered by professional secrecy only to the extent strictly necessary for her/his defence.
Searches of law firms may only be carried out in the presence of the Head of the Bar or their representative, or if they have been duly called to attend.
The Head of the Bar or their representative may make observations regarding the preservation of professional secrecy to the investigative authorities and, in order not to be invalidated, all acts of seizure must record the presence of the Head of the Bar or their representative, or their having been called to attend.
Legal professional privilege in the context of investigations by the antitrust/competition authority
The above-mentioned principles also apply in the context of investigations by the antitrust / competition authority.
