Preliminary note

In France, lawyers are organised in Bars attached to each Tribunal de grande instance. Each Bar is managed by a Bar Council (Conseil de l’Ordre), presided over by the bâtonnier.

Lawyers admitted to practice in a Bar in France are subject to professional secrecy whether they practise alone or in a group. This is an essential element of the professional activity of lawyers.

Lawyers exercise their activity as independent professionals, and at present members of the legal department of corporations are not lawyers.

Scope of and limitations on professional secrecy

Statutory basis and implications

Historically, the professional secrecy of lawyers is one of the three traditional major secrets. The other two are the secret of confession and the medical secret.

Its sole purpose is the protection of the public interest. The basis can be found in various legal, regulatory and professional texts: Article 66-5 of the Law of 13 December 1971, Article 226-13 ff. of the Criminal Code, Article 4 of the Decree of 12 July 2005 and Article 2 of the National Regulation, called the ‘RIN’.