The Great Zero Challenge

[Nicholas Bohm]

James Cox wrote:
> 
> On 9 Sep 2008, at 10:59, Nicholas Bohm wrote:
> 
>> Peter Fairbrother wrote:
>>> Nicholas Bohm wrote:
>>>> Peter Fairbrother wrote:
>>>>> Roland Perry wrote:
>>>>>> In article 
>>>>>> <3452E045-84B4-4ABA-A319-4D379CA1E44A@sourcetagged.ian.co.uk>, Ian 
>>>>>> Mason <ukcrypto@sourcetagged.ian.co.uk> writes
>>>>>>> I have the appended signature in my armoury for  replies to those 
>>>>>>> who send such ludicrous legalese.
>>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Last time I thought I understood "breach of confidence" (which was 
>>>> before it began its recent strenuous morphing into a basis for a 
>>>> remedy for breach of privacy), the answer was that marking things 
>>>> "Private" or "Confidential" did not by itself impose a duty on the 
>>>> recipient.  It might, if consistently used in the course of a 
>>>> continuing relationship, especially if used by both parties, provide 
>>>> evidence that a "relationship of confidence" had come into 
>>>> existence.  If so, disclosure of information exchanged within that 
>>>> relationship, as long as it was information of an intrinsically 
>>>> confidential kind, would be a breach of confidence.  Marking may 
>>>> also act to designate something as part of a class protected under a 
>>>> prior agreement.
>>> Is it correct that, for a breach of confidence, there has to be an 
>>> agreement beforehand that that matters will be kept confidential, and 
>>> absent such an agreement there is no duty to keep matters confidential?
>>
>> No; the traditional requirement was that there must be a confidential 
>> relationship - contract could establish that, but so could other 
>> things.  Communications between spouses, for example, are confidential.
> 
> under which legal provision? 

Common law - Argyll v Argyll [1967] Ch 302.

> and how does that apply to divorce proceedings?

No relevant effect (it doesn't prevent a spouse disclosing information 
for the purpose of divorce proceedings, if that's what you had in mind).

Nick
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