Privilege

A privilege—etymologically "private law" or law relating to a specific individual—is an honour, or permissive activity granted by another person or a government. A privilege is not a right and in some cases can be revoked. For example in most countries driving on publicly-maintained roads is a privilege, if one violates certain rules driving privileges can be revoked.

Exclusionary privilege

In legal matters, privilege is also a term describing rules excluding evidence from a trial if the disclosure of that evidence would be adverse to a fundamental principle or relationship. Examples of privilege include legal professional privilege, privilege against self-incrimination, and marital privilege.

Related Topics:
Legal matters - Evidence - Trial - Legal professional privilege - Privilege against self-incrimination - Marital privilege

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Privileged communications are excluded as evidence in court because their disclosure is inimical to a fundamental principle or relationship that society deems worthy of preserving and fostering even at the expense of truth ascertainment in litigation. There is constant tension between the competing values which various privileges promote, and the need for all relevant evidence to be adduced in litigation.

Related Topics:
Truth - Litigation

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The vast majority of privilege claims are raised at the interlocutory stages of civil proceedings. In comparison to its significance in pre-trial evidence gathering processes, the operation of privilege as an exclusionary principle during trials is entirely minor. Common law privilege can be characterised as a bar to compulsory process for the obtaining of evidence rather than a rule of inadmissibility.

Related Topics:
Interlocutory - Pre-trial - Common law

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