Preliminary note

In Latvia, lawyers who are admitted to the Bar are subject to the duty of professional secrecy. As stated by the Law on the Bar, persons who may work as advocates in Latvia are sworn advocates, assistants of sworn advocates and citizens of European Union Member States who have obtained the qualification of an advocate in one of the European Union Member States.

It should be noted that lawyers who work for a company, the state or a public organisation are not members of the Bar. This chapter focuses on the duty of professional secrecy of lawyers who belong to the Bar. Unless indicated otherwise, for the purposes of this chapter, the term ‘lawyer’ refers to a member of the Bar.

The duty of professional secrecy is mainly based on the principle of confidentiality. Lawyers shall be independent and shall be subject only to the law in their professional activities. They must comply with the laws, as well as with the Code of Ethics of the Latvian Sworn Advocates, which states lawyers’ principles of ethics, and confidentiality is one of three basic principles. This principle must be respected in order to ensure the person’s right to a fair trial.

Lawyers shall practise a liberal profession and they belong to the national judicial system of Latvia. In this regard, a lawyer cannot be a person who is employed in a direct or indirect state administrative institution, derived public person, other state institution or state (local) government capital company, except for teaching staff in educational establishments.