Company lawyers battle European Union on privilege

The European Company Lawyers Association (ECLA) has been granted leave to intervene in a case to push its claim that the European Commission's failure to grant in-house lawyers legal privilege breaches human rights law.The European Court of Human Rights has granted ECLA the right to file an amicus brief in Senator Lines v Member States of the European Union.

The plaintiff argues that the criminal nature of competition law penalties require rights to a defence.ECLA, advised by US firm Cleary Gottleib Steen & Hamilton's Brussels office, says a company's right to use a lawyer of choice is infringed by the absence of privilege.ECLA vice-president Jettie Van Caenegem argued in the Brussels Agenda, produced by the Law Society's Brussels office, that the lack of privilege makes the choice of in-house counsel 'de facto impossible'.