privileged communication

privileged communication

* * *

In law, communication between parties to a confidential relation such that the communication's recipient is exempted from disclosing it as a witness.

Communications between attorney and client are privileged and do not have to be disclosed to the court. The right to privileged communication also exists between husbands and wives, as neither is required to testify against the other in court, and between physicians and patients, though doctors may be required to disclose such information if the right of the defendant to receive a fair trial outweighs the patient's right to confidentiality. Members of the clergy have limited rights to refuse to testify in court, and reporters have been accorded a limited right to privileged communication concerning the sources of their information, though they can be ordered to divulge information in certain circumstances.

* * *

▪ law
      in law, communication between persons who have a special duty of fidelity and secrecy toward each other. Communications between attorney and client are privileged and do not have to be disclosed to the court. However, in the wake of terrorist attacks against the United States in 2001, some policy makers supported eavesdropping on the attorney-client discussions of suspected terrorists. The right of privileged communication exists between husbands and wives in that they are not required to testify against each other. In many jurisdictions the privilege exists between physicians and patients, as the courts have recognized that the basis of a doctor-patient relationship is trust, which would be negated were the doctor forced to reveal patients' communications in court. However, in some circumstances doctors may be required to disclose such information if it is determined that the right of the defendant to receive a fair trial outweighs the patient's right to confidentiality. In some jurisdictions members of the clergy have limited rights to refuse to testify in court on matters communicated to them in confidence (the “priest-penitent” privilege). Reporters (journalism) have been accorded a limited right to privileged communication concerning the sources of their information, though they can be ordered to divulge information in certain situations. For example, in 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a news reporter's claim of confidentiality in Branzburg v. Hayes.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • privileged communication — n 1: confidential communication 2 a: a defamatory communication that does not expose the party making it to the liability that would follow from it if not privileged – called also absolutely privileged communication; b: a defamatory stat …   Law dictionary

  • Privileged communication — Privileged Priv i*leged, a. Invested with a privilege; enjoying a peculiar right, advantage, or immunity. [1913 Webster] {Privileged communication}. (Law) (a) A communication which can not be disclosed without the consent of the party making it,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • privileged communication — n. Law 1. a communication that one cannot legally be compelled to divulge, as that to a lawyer from a client 2. a communication made under certain circumstances, as in a legislative proceeding, such that it is not actionable as slander or libel …   English World dictionary

  • privileged communication — noun 1. : a communication between parties to a confidential relation such that the recipient cannot be legally compelled to disclose it as a witness (as a communication between lawyer and client, physician and patient, husband and wife) called… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Privileged Communication — Interaction between two parties in which the law recognizes a private, protected relationship. Whatever is communicated between these pairs of parties shall remain confidential, and the law cannot force disclosure of these communications. The… …   Investment dictionary

  • privileged communication — A communication between persons in such a confidential relationship, be it attorney and client, physician and patient, or confessor and penitent, that public policy prohibits the disclosure thereof by the person to whom it was made, as a witness… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • privileged communication — priv·i·leged communication priv ə lijd n a communication between parties to a confidential relation (as between physician and patient) such that the recipient cannot be legally compelled to disclose it as a witness …   Medical dictionary

  • conditionally privileged communication — n: privileged communication (2b) Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • absolutely privileged communication — absolutely privileged com·mu·ni·ca·tion n: privileged communication (2a) Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • conditionally privileged communication — One made in good faith on any subject matter in which the person publishing has an interest, or in reference to which he has a duty, if made to a person having a corresponding interest or duty, even though it contains matter which otherwise would …   Black's law dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”