European Court of Justice Rules Against Attorney Professional Secrecy

On June 26, 2007, the European Court of Justice upheld the European Council Directive 91/308/EEC on anti-money laundering, as amended by Directive 2001/97/EC of the European Parliament, ruling against the bar associations contesting the directive. The bar associations has challenged the portion of EC Directive, as implemented by Belgium, requiring attorneys to make suspicious activities reports (SARs) to regulatory and law enforcement authorities. The bar associations argued that the SAR requirements unjustifiably impinge on professional secrecy and the independence of lawyers. In particular, the bar associations contended that the SAR requirement infringe Articles 10 and 11 of the Belgian Constitution, read in conjunction with Article 6 of the ECHR, the general principles of law relating to the rights of the defense, Article 6(2) EU, and also Articles 47 and 48 of the Charger of Fundamental Rights of the EU on December 7, 2000...more