The Professional Secret, Confidentiality and Legal Profession ...

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federal or state legislatures, editors,
publishers, printers, and radio and television
producers. The limits of the right to
refuse to give evidence are defined in each
case.
5. §53 a.I. StPO
6. The German commentaries do not deal with this
problem (see Kleinknecht StPO 32. Aufl. 1975
Anm. Zu §53; Lowe-Rosenberg StPO 22. Aufl.
1971 Anm. Zu §53). No reported court
decision has been found. See also footnote 3
to para. C3 supra.
(lii) Pro~e~t~9.n_ofdocuments from search and seizure:-
13. The importance of this aspect of continental law will not be
14. /
understood by lawyers trained in the UK system unless it is
remembered that, on the continent, the police have independent
powers of search and seizure and that the prosecuting authorities
are, like the judges, members of the magistrature. In general,
once a document is seized and reaches the 'dossier', it may be
used as evidence against an accused person unless positive steps
are taken to have it excluded from consideration. It is therefore
important, in order to ensure protection of the professional
secret, to prevent a document from being seized and thus reaching
the dossier. The distinction is made between search
(perquisition, perquisizione, huiszoeking, Haussuchung) and
seizure (saisie, sequestro, beslag, Beschlagnahme).l
1. On peut definir la perquisition comme la
recherche par les juges d'instruction et
les officiers de police judiciaire, en des
lieux normalement clos, et particulierement
au domicile des citoyens, des objets et
documents susceptibles de constituer le corps
du delit ou d'apporter la preuve d'une
culpabilite. La saisie est la mise de ces
objets sous main de justice" - Dalloz,
Repertoire de Droit Penal 1969. Ill, Vo
Perquisition. §l.