Section 393 — Companies Act 1993: Privileged communications

393 Privileged communications (1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, nothing in this Act requires a legal practitioner to disclose a privileged communication. (2) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section applies to a communication made to or by a person referred to in section 261(2)(f) of this Act while acting or having acted as a solicitor for a company to which that section applies and which that person is required to disclose under section 261(3) of this Act. (3) For the purposes of this section, a communication is a privileged communication only if— (a) It is a confidential communication, whether oral or written, passing between— (i) A legal practitioner in his or her professional capacity and another legal practitioner in that capacity; or (ii) A legal practitioner in his or her professional capacity and his or her client,— whether made directly or indirectly through an agent; and (b) It is made or brought into existence for the purpose of obtaining or giving legal advice or assistance; and (c) It is not made or brought into existence for the purpose of committing or furthering the commission of an illegal or wrongful act. (4) If the information or document consists wholly of payments, income, expenditure, or financial transactions of a specified person (whether a legal practitioner, his or her client, or any other person), it is not a privileged communication if it is contained in, or comprises the whole or part of, a book, account, statement or other record prepared or kept by the legal practitioner in connection with a trust account of the legal practitioner within the meaning of section 6 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006. (5) The Court may, on the application of any person, determine whether or not a claim of privilege is valid and may, for that purpose, require the information or document to be produced. (6) For the purposes of this section, the term legal practitioner means a barrister or solicitor of the High Court, and references to a legal practitioner include a firm or an incorporated law firm (within the meaning of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 ) in which he or she is, or is held out to be, a partner, director, or shareholder. Compare: 1990 No 51 s 24 Section 393(4): amended, on 1 August 2008, by section 348 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 (2006 No 1). Section 393(6): substituted, on 1 August 2008, by section 348 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 (2006 No 1).