Privilege, confidentiality and illegitimately obtained documents

In November 2019 Mrs Justice Knowles delivered a further judgment in the long-running Akhmedova v Akhmedov litigation ([2019] EWHC 3140). The judgment is a helpful summary of the law in relation to the use of illegitimately obtained documents and the circumstances in which a prima facie claim to privilege can be overridden.

In this article we will explore the background to the case, the facts and issues that arose for determination by Knowles J, the law on illegitimately obtained documents and their use in financial remedy proceedings, the law on privilege, the fraud/iniquity exception to privilege, and the decision in this instalment of Akhmedova v Akhmedov. We will finish by providing some practical guidance for practitioners.