Clifford Chance
The Singapore Court of Appeal clarifies that privilege extends to pre-2012 in-house counsel communications
16 February 2017
The Singapore Court of Appeal has clarified in the recent case of ARX v Comptroller of Income Tax [2016] 5 SLR 590; [2016] SGCA 56 that legal professional privilege extends to communications with in-house counsel that existed prior to the enactment of the 2012 Amendment Act to the Evidence Act (Cap 97). While the 2012 Amendment Act expressly extended the provisions regarding legal professional privilege to in-house counsel, doubts remained as to whether such privilege also attached to in-house counsel communications created prior to the 2012 amendments.
These doubts have now been laid to rest by the Singapore Court of Appeal. This judgment also provides valuable guidance on the issue of when a reference to privileged material in the course of court proceedings will give rise to an implied waiver of privilege.
