A conventional privilege

THE EUROPEAN UNION Third Anti-Money Laundering Directive was published on 1 July 2004 and must be implemented by the EU Member States within two years.

The directive continues the theme of the Second Directive in requiring Member States to ensure that the prescribed exemptions from reporting money-laundering activities are applied uniformly between professionals providing directly comparable services. The directive states that this requirement is necessary 'in order to ensure the respect of the rights laid down in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms' ('convention rights').

This article looks at whether those rights also have the effect of extending legal professional privilege (LPP) to non-lawyers providing services directly comparable to those provided by lawyers — particularly tax advisers advising on tax law. It should be noted here that the question as to whether the availability of LPP makes any practical difference to successful tax planning...