Legal Professional Privilege und Internal Investigations

Legal professional privilege (LPP) is a creation of the common law. It is not codified but has evolved over centuries through judicial development. Unlike German law, which permits the seizure of work product generated during lawyer-led internal investigations in the interests of effective criminal enforcement, the protection afforded by LPP is, in principle, absolute. This study examines the extent to which the principles underlying LPP can be accommodated within German law. It compares the legal frameworks governing internal investigations in England and Germany and analyses LPP alongside its functional equivalents under German criminal procedure. It concludes by advancing proposals for reform of section 97 StPO and section 30 OWiG.