On February 23, the Arbitration Committee Task Force on Privilege in International Arbitration of the International Bar Association (IBA) published Report on Uniform Guidelines on Privilege in International Arbitration. The Privilege Task Force recommended that an expanded task force be constituted to develop uniform guidelines for those three categories of privilege, including exceptions to their application. The Privilege Task Force further recommends that the expanded task force develop a uniform choice-of-law guideline for other categories of privilege that may be asserted in international arbitration proceedings.

The Report concluded that uniform guidelines on privilege are indeed necessart. In a globalized legal environment, uniform guidelines on privilege could provide clarity and consistency on issues of privilege in international arbitration and reduce the uncertainty and burden faced by parties and arbitral tribunals. In particular, for legal advice privilege, procedural or litigation privilege and settlement privilege, the report identified the potential for harmonized guidelines. The report also carried out studies of six categories of privilege, namely legal advice privilege, litigation privilege, public interest immunity, settlement privilege, common interest privilege and privilege against self-incrimination.

The Report is available at

https://www.ibanet.org/document?id=Report-on-Uniform-Guidelines-on-Privilege-in-International-Arbitration 

(Source: Wechat Account of the CYAN Law Firm)