Lawyers’ Professional Secrecy and Justice

Abstract

Professional secrecy is a fundamental right that many professionals, including doctors, notaries and lawyers, must observe. Within the lawyer-client relationship, professional secrecy is a privilege which ensures that any information you provide to your lawyer is kept confidential. It also applies to verbal or written opinions provided to you by your lawyer. Under professional secrecy, your lawyer is forbidden from revealing this information, even if questioned before a judge.1 This serves to create trust between you and your lawyer. It also means that you can entrust your lawyer with all types of information, even things you wouldn’t tell your best friend.2This article concerns lawyers’ professional secrecy and provides therein analysis on a possibility of the justice deniedin case the provisions on professional secrecy of lawyers are sustained as recorded. This might as well be termed as concealing an offence or failing to assist a person in danger which is also a crime punishable under Rwandan law.