ENRC, a miner under investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office, said on Wednesday it had won an appeal in a London court to keep documents generated during an internal investigation out of the hands of authorities.
The ruling, in a case that has tested the key legal principle of legal professional privilege and has been closely watched by lawyers and companies, overturned a lower court ruling from last year.
Michael Roberts, a lawyer at Hogan Lovells who represented ENRC (Eurasian National Resources Corporation), called it a “historic ruling”.
“It is critical that companies are not penalised for acting responsibly, and are able to instruct lawyers to conduct investigations without fear that the authorities will later be able to demand all of the lawyers’ work product.”
The SFO declined immediate comment.