Section 100 - Lawyer-client privilege

(1) For the purposes of this section and of sections 93, 101 and 102,

(a) a client is a person, including a public entity, an association or a body corporate, who or which directly or through an authorised representative seeks professional legal services from a lawyer;

(b) a representative of the client is a person having authority from the client to make to, or receive from, a lawyer confidential communications relating to professional legal services sought by the client;

(c) a representative of the lawyer is a person having authority from the lawyer to assist the lawyer in rendering professional legal services sought by the client;

(d) a communication is confidential if it is not intended to be disclosed, and is made in a manner reasonably calculated not to disclose its contents, to third persons other than those to whom disclosure is in furtherance of the client’s interest in seeking professional legal services, or those reasonably necessary for the transmission of the communication.

(2) A client has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent any other person from disclosing, a confidential communication, reasonably related to professional legal services sought by the client, and made

(a) between the client or a representative of the client and the lawyer or a representative of the lawyer, or

(b) between the lawyer and a representative of the lawyer, or

(c) between the lawyer or a representative of the lawyer and a lawyer representing another person,

in a matter of common interest with the client or a representative of the lawyer.

(3) A client’s privilege under subsection (2) may be claimed by

(a) the client; or

(b) the client’s guardian or committee; or

(c) the personal representative of a deceased client; or

(d) the successor in interest of a client who was an artificial person; or

(e) the person who was the client’s lawyer at the time of the communication, or the representative of the lawyer, but that person may not claim the privilege if there is no other person in existence who is authorised by paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of this subsection to claim the privilege, or if that person is otherwise instructed to permit disclosure by a person so authorised.