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marking a letter "Private & Confidential"

  • 12-02-2016 3:20pm
    #1
    Carawaystick
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,779 ✭✭✭


    The Irish Times reported today about some lobbying the bar council and law society did to get amendments to a bill.
    They marked their letters private and confidential. The IT got a copy of the letters in a FOI request.

    SO Generally does "Private & Confidential" impose any obligation on the recipient?
    If it does, shouldn't the legal eagles heading up the legal profession know the FOI will trump their right to privacy here?


Comments

  • #2
    hullaballoo
    Administrators, Entertainment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,774 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭hullaballoo


    It doesn't impose any obligation on the recipient - it is intended to communicate to other would-be readers that it is the recipient's privacy and confidence at stake.

    I don't think anything in those letters is actually private or confidential, though. I'd be fairly confident they reflect the views that the Bar Council and Law Society have set out publicly.

    Many letters are sent with the words "private" and "confidential" on them but I would be amazed if there was a lawyer in the State who thinks they somehow make the communication privileged, let alone the heads of the regulatory bodies, tbh.

    Beasley is highlighting the letters marked "private and confidential" to push his lob-sided and fairly sensationalised agenda in that opinion piece. The headlines is something else!


  • #3
    Marcusm
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,633 ✭✭✭✭Marcusm


    hullaballoo wrote: »
    It doesn't impose any obligation on the recipient - it is intended to communicate to other would-be readers that it is the recipient's privacy and confidence at stake.

    I don't think anything in those letters is actually private or confidential, though. I'd be fairly confident they reflect the views that the Bar Council and Law Society have set out publicly.

    Many letters are sent with the words "private" and "confidential" on them but I would be amazed if there was a lawyer in the State who thinks they somehow make the communication privileged, let alone the heads of the regulatory bodies, tbh.

    Beasley is highlighting the letters marked "private and confidential" to push his lob-sided and fairly sensationalised agenda in that opinion piece. The headlines is something else!

    I have no doubt that there are plenty of lawyers in the State with such a hazy understanding of legal professional privilege that they would think just that but I would hope they are not in the employ of the Bar Council or Law Society.


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