Confidentiality of Correspondence with Counsel as a Requirement of a Fair Trial in Portugal
/The article offers a practical perspective on the right to legal assistance based on the authors’ experience in criminal defence. It is written by practising lawyers, but could and should be subject to scrutiny and discussion by other judicial actors and lawyers in general. It begins by presenting the general legal framework of the right to counsel in Portugal, and in particular in criminal cases. It focuses on the legal duties of the defence counsel, the attorney-client privilege, its exceptions and the consequences of its infringement. Then, aspects of the pretrial right to counsel during the preliminary investigation in criminal cases are outlined, followed by the topics of state intrusion into the confidentiality of attorney-client communications and a brief presentation of related exclusionary rules and nullities. The article ends with a section dedicated to a critical analysis and suggestions of reform. The importance of this article from an international perspective lies in highlighting how the Portuguese legal system establishes the right to defence in criminal cases as an absolute right, standing out internationally in the field of protecting the confidentiality of attorney-client relations, with its wide protection of the prerogatives of the criminal defence mandate, at least on the legislative level.
Lees verder:
Confidentiality of Correspondence with Counsel as a Requirement of a Fair Trial in Portugal door Vânia Costa Ramos, Carlos Pinto de Abreu, João Valente Cordeiro in Ius Comparatum - Global Studies in Comparative Law
