AM&S Europe v. Commission of European Communities (CoJ, 1982) [14]
F: Commission
launches investigation of a UK company, and the company claims legal
privilege for certain documents. The Commission insists and AM&S
initiates proceedings before the Court to declare the Commission’s
decision as void.
R: Confidentiality,
which is common to all member states, must be recognized as regards
certain communications between a lawyer and a client. The nature varies
somewhat, but we can find some commonality amongst the Member States –
the communication (1) must be related to the case or issue at hand, and
(2) it must be communication with an independent lawyer (not in-house
counsel). At the time, this privilege was limited to independent E.U.
lawyers, and not to other lawyers (i.e.: American lawyers).
H: The
communications in question concern legal opinions regarding Community
provisions on competition, and are protected from disclosure. 
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