Financial Reporting Council Ltd v Sports Direct International plc

Subject Matter

EVIDENCE — Privilege — Legal professional privilege — Financial Reporting Council seeking disclosure of documents sent by defendant to auditors — Documents subject to legal professional privilege — Whether disclosure to Financial Reporting Council infringing privilege

[2018] EWHC 2284 (Ch); [2019] 2 All ER 974; [2018] Lloyd's Rep FC 672; Transcript, Ch D

PRACTICE — Disclosure — Legal professional privilege — Regulator issuing statutory notice requiring company to provide documents for purposes of investigation into company’s former auditors — Whether legal professional privilege infringed where privileged documents disclosed pursuant to regulator’s statutory notice — Whether pre-existing document privileged by virtue of being attached to privileged e-mail — Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/649), Sch 2, para 1

[2020] EWCA Civ 177; [2021] Ch 457; [2020] 2 WLR 1256; [2020] 4 All ER 552; [2020] 2 All ER (Comm) 1027; [2020] WLR (D) 97, CA

Appellate History

Commentary

Out-Law
High Court rejects privilege claim in regulator request for documents Case comment

Financial Reporting Council
The Financial Reporting Council v Sports Direct International plc Press release

Blackstones Criminal Practice 2025
Legal Professional Privilege - Statutory Provisions F10.19

Legal Professional Privilege - Pre-existing Documents and Items F10.34

Blackstones Civil Practice 2023
Legal Professional Privilege - Statutory exclusion of legal professional privilege 50.104

Legal Professional Privilege - Lawyers’ working papers and copies of documents 50.111