{"id":712,"date":"2024-07-30T13:48:12","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T13:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/?page_id=712"},"modified":"2025-03-12T21:11:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T20:11:15","slug":"legal-privilege","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/legal-privilege\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal privilege"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-columns alignwide stk-block-columns stk-block stk-f686325 stk-block-background stk--has-background-overlay\" data-block-id=\"f686325\"><style>.stk-f686325 {background-color:linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(0,132,156) 0%,rgb(0,0,0) 100%) !important;border-top-left-radius:15px !important;border-top-right-radius:15px !important;border-bottom-right-radius:15px !important;border-bottom-left-radius:15px !important;overflow:hidden !important;padding-top:0px !important;padding-right:0px !important;padding-bottom:0px !important;padding-left:0px !important;margin-bottom:50px !important;}.stk-f686325:before{background-image:linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(0,132,156) 0%,rgb(0,0,0) 100%) !important;}.stk-f686325-column{--stk-columns-spacing:0px !important;}@media screen and (max-width:689px){.stk-f686325 {margin-bottom:30px !important;}}<\/style><div class=\"stk-row stk-inner-blocks stk-block-content stk-content-align stk-f686325-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-ee3e76c\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"ee3e76c\"><style>.stk-ee3e76c-container{margin-top:0px !important;margin-right:0px !important;margin-bottom:0px !important;margin-left:0px !important;min-height:200px !important;padding-top:0px !important;padding-right:0px !important;padding-bottom:0px !important;padding-left:0px !important;}.stk-ee3e76c-inner-blocks{justify-content:center !important;}.stk-ee3e76c {padding-top:0px !important;padding-right:0px !important;padding-bottom:0px !important;padding-left:0px !important;}@media screen and (max-width:999px){.stk-ee3e76c {padding-top:0px !important;padding-right:15px !important;padding-bottom:0px !important;padding-left:15px !important;}}@media screen and (max-width:689px){.stk-ee3e76c {padding-top:0px !important;padding-right:15px !important;padding-bottom:0px !important;padding-left:15px !important;}.stk-ee3e76c-container{min-height:160px !important;}}<\/style><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-ee3e76c-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk--column-flex stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-ee3e76c-inner-blocks\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-heading stk-block-heading stk-block-heading--v2 stk-block stk-deb44a2\" id=\"span-data-stk-dynamic-current-page-post-title-contenteditable-false-class-stk-dynamic-content-auto-draft-span\" data-block-id=\"deb44a2\"><style>.stk-deb44a2 .stk-block-heading__bottom-line{height:2px !important;background-color:var(--theme-palette-color-8, #ffffff) !important;margin-top:13px !important;}.stk-deb44a2 {margin-bottom:15px !important;}.stk-deb44a2 .stk-block-heading__text{color:var(--theme-palette-color-8, #ffffff) !important;}@media screen and (max-width:999px){.stk-deb44a2 .stk-block-heading__text{font-size:30px !important;}}@media screen and (max-width:689px){.stk-deb44a2 .stk-block-heading__text{font-size:21px !important;}}<\/style><h1 class=\"stk-block-heading__text has-text-color\">Legal privilege<\/h1><div class=\"stk-block-heading__bottom-line\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"block_6f4bfc7a5461223c4275190892c138b0\" class=\"breadcrumbs-block \" style=\"\">\n        <ul id=\"ibj-breadcrumbs\" class=\"ibj-breadcrumbs\"><li class=\"item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/\">Home<\/a><\/li><li class=\"separator\">\/<\/li><\/ul>    <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-heading stk-block-heading stk-block-heading--v2 stk-block stk-9f791cc\" id=\"the-confidentiality-of-company-lawyers-advice\" data-block-id=\"9f791cc\"><style>.stk-9f791cc {margin-bottom:15px !important;}<\/style><h3 class=\"stk-block-heading__text\">The confidentiality of company lawyer&#8217;s advice<\/h3><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-f88a8d3\" id=\"the-confidentiality-of-company-lawyers-advice\" data-block-id=\"f88a8d3\"><style>.stk-f88a8d3 {margin-bottom:30px !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">As company lawyer, you ensure that your company acts correctly and assumes its legal responsibilities. In the midst of the exciting and sometimes hard reality of doing business, you help build your company&#8217;s strategy by keeping \u2018your finger on the pulse\u2019, reacting quickly and looking for (simple) solutions.<br>For this, you must be able to speak openly within your company and receive all relevant information, and this is precisely why \u2018Legal Privilege\u2019 for company lawyers is so fundamental.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-heading stk-block-heading stk-block-heading--v2 stk-block stk-2092ee4\" id=\"the-confidentiality-of-company-lawyers-advice\" data-block-id=\"2092ee4\"><style>.stk-2092ee4 {margin-bottom:15px !important;}<\/style><h3 class=\"stk-block-heading__text\">Legal framework<\/h3><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-64f7f05\" id=\"the-confidentiality-of-company-lawyers-advice\" data-block-id=\"64f7f05\"><style>.stk-64f7f05 {margin-bottom:15px !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">The Act of 1 March 2000 establishing the Institute of Company Lawyers stipulates that the legal advice provided by an company lawyer as a member of the Institute of Company Lawyers is confidential for the benefit of the company lawyer\u2019s employer.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-20f1955\" id=\"the-confidentiality-of-company-lawyers-advice\" data-block-id=\"20f1955\"><style>.stk-20f1955 {margin-bottom:15px !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">This confidentiality, also called \u2018legal privilege\u2019, has also been recognised by case law, notably in the <em>Belgacom<\/em> judgment of the Brussels Court of Appeal of 5 March 2013, which was confirmed by the judgment of the Court of Cassation of 22 January 2015.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-53679db\" id=\"the-confidentiality-of-company-lawyers-advice\" data-block-id=\"53679db\"><style>.stk-53679db {margin-bottom:30px !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">The confidentiality of company lawyer&#8217;s advice is based on the fundamental rights of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) set out in Articles 6 (right to legal assistance) and 8 (right to privacy).<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-heading stk-block-heading stk-block-heading--v2 stk-block stk-eae0a57\" id=\"the-confidentiality-of-company-lawyers-advice\" data-block-id=\"eae0a57\"><style>.stk-eae0a57 {margin-bottom:5px !important;}.stk-eae0a57 .stk-block-heading__text{color:var(--theme-palette-color-1, #00849C) !important;}<\/style><h4 class=\"stk-block-heading__text has-text-color\">When is advice covered by confidentiality?<\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-19d01ff\" id=\"the-confidentiality-of-company-lawyers-advice\" data-block-id=\"19d01ff\"><style>.stk-19d01ff {margin-bottom:15px !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">Article 5 of the Act of 1 March 2000 establishing an Institute of Company Lawyers states: \u201cThe advice provided by the company lawyer, in favour of his employer and in the framework of his function of legal counsel, is confidential\u201d.<br><br>Case law has confirmed that requests for advice and preparatory documents are also covered by this confidentiality. In the important <em>Belgacom<\/em> judgment of 5 March 2013, the Brussels Court of Appeal clarified that the \u201copinions\u201d of company lawyers also include correspondence relating to the request for advice, draft opinions and other preparatory documents.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-heading stk-block-heading stk-block-heading--v2 stk-block stk-1612d2c\" id=\"the-confidentiality-of-company-lawyers-advice\" data-block-id=\"1612d2c\"><style>.stk-1612d2c {margin-bottom:5px !important;}.stk-1612d2c .stk-block-heading__text{color:var(--theme-palette-color-1, #00849C) !important;}<\/style><h4 class=\"stk-block-heading__text has-text-color\">What are the consequences of this confidentiality?<\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-be338e8\" id=\"the-confidentiality-of-company-lawyers-advice\" data-block-id=\"be338e8\"><style>.stk-be338e8 {margin-bottom:15px !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">The opinion of company lawyer and the documents relating to that opinion may not be consulted or copied by persons other than the addressee(s), nor may they be seized by the authorities or the courts, for example in the context of a search. The company lawyer cannot be obliged to answer questions about the content of his or her opinions or about the facts communicated to him or her in this context.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"block_a05ed26ccf36c049c3e522db46727c7d\" class=\"pagelink-block \" style=\"\">\n                                        <div class=\"pagelink-block-nav-title\">\n                    The company lawyer                <\/div>\n                        <nav class=\"pagelink-block-nav\">\n                <ul>\n                                                                    <li><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/become-a-member\/\" title=\"More on: Become a member\">Become a member<\/a><\/li>\n                                                                    <li><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/code-of-ethics\/\" title=\"More on: Code of ethics\">Code of ethics<\/a><\/li>\n                                                                    <li><a class=\"active\" href=\"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/legal-privilege\/\" title=\"More on: Legal privilege\">Legal privilege<\/a><\/li>\n                                                                    <li><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/dawn-raid\/\" title=\"More on: Dawn raid\">Dawn raid<\/a><\/li>\n                                                                    <li><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/regulations\/\" title=\"More on: Regulations\">Regulations<\/a><\/li>\n                                                                    <li><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/remuneration-survey\/\" title=\"More on: Remuneration survey\">Remuneration survey<\/a><\/li>\n                                    <\/ul>\n            <\/nav>\n            <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Legal privilege The confidentiality of company lawyer&#8217;s advice As company lawyer, you ensure that your company acts correctly and assumes its legal responsibilities. In the midst of the exciting and sometimes hard reality of doing business, you help build your company&#8217;s strategy by keeping \u2018your finger on the pulse\u2019, reacting quickly and looking for (simple) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":29,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-712","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Legal privilege - IBJ - IJE<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/legal-privilege\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Legal privilege - IBJ - IJE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Legal privilege The confidentiality of company lawyer&#8217;s advice As company lawyer, you ensure that your company acts correctly and assumes its legal responsibilities. In the midst of the exciting and sometimes hard reality of doing business, you help build your company&#8217;s strategy by keeping \u2018your finger on the pulse\u2019, reacting quickly and looking for (simple) [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/legal-privilege\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IBJ - IJE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-12T20:11:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/company-lawyer\\\/legal-privilege\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/company-lawyer\\\/legal-privilege\\\/\",\"name\":\"Legal privilege - IBJ - IJE\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-30T13:48:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-12T20:11:15+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/company-lawyer\\\/legal-privilege\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/company-lawyer\\\/legal-privilege\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/company-lawyer\\\/legal-privilege\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The company lawyer\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/company-lawyer\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Legal privilege\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"IBJ - IJE\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"IBJ - IJE\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/ibj-ije-logo-color.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/ibj-ije-logo-color.svg\",\"width\":288,\"height\":121,\"caption\":\"IBJ - IJE\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ibj.be\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/10961968\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Legal privilege - IBJ - IJE","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/legal-privilege\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Legal privilege - IBJ - IJE","og_description":"Legal privilege The confidentiality of company lawyer&#8217;s advice As company lawyer, you ensure that your company acts correctly and assumes its legal responsibilities. In the midst of the exciting and sometimes hard reality of doing business, you help build your company&#8217;s strategy by keeping \u2018your finger on the pulse\u2019, reacting quickly and looking for (simple) [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/legal-privilege\/","og_site_name":"IBJ - IJE","article_modified_time":"2025-03-12T20:11:15+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/legal-privilege\/","url":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/legal-privilege\/","name":"Legal privilege - IBJ - IJE","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-07-30T13:48:12+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-12T20:11:15+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/legal-privilege\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/legal-privilege\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/legal-privilege\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The company lawyer","item":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/company-lawyer\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Legal privilege"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/","name":"IBJ - IJE","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/#organization","name":"IBJ - IJE","url":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/ibj-ije-logo-color.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/ibj-ije-logo-color.svg","width":288,"height":121,"caption":"IBJ - IJE"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/10961968\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/712\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}