Geheimhoudingsplicht advocaat

The duty of confidentiality constitutes a fundamental principle of Dutch advocates’ law and is enshrined in the Advocates Act and the Rules of Conduct for Advocates. This obligation applies to all information received by an advocate in a professional capacity, irrespective of whether it has been obtained in writing, orally or electronically.

The obligation is essential to the relationship of trust between advocate and client, as clients will only be candid if they can be confident that their information will not be disclosed. A breach of the duty of confidentiality may give rise to disciplinary, civil or criminal consequences.

In practice, the obligation continues after the termination of the client relationship and after removal from the register of advocates, except where statutory exceptions apply, such as a mandatory statutory disclosure or the client’s consent.