Preliminary note

Members of the Icelandic Bar Association are lawyers licensed to be representatives in litigation before the Supreme Court and/or the district courts in Iceland. They are subject to the Act on Lawyers no 77/1998. In this report, the duty of professional secrecy (also known as the attorney–client privilege) of such lawyers is examined.

The members of the Icelandic Bar Association are required, in accordance with Article 12 of the Act on Lawyers, to maintain an office open to the public, a separate trust account in an accredited banking institution for monies belonging to clients, and a valid professional liability insurance. In principle, the members of the Icelandic Bar Association are self-employed lawyers, but certain lawyers who are not self-employed may apply for membership in the Icelandic Bar Association according to the second paragraph of Article 12 of the Act on Lawyers on the basis of an exemption from these requirements. These are lawyers holding a permanent position with a public or private institution, provided that they do not render legal services to any other party; lawyers who remain in the employment of another lawyer; or lawyers holding a permanent position with an association, provided that they do not render legal services to any other party than the association itself or its members, and that the legal services rendered fall within the sphere of the association's activities.