Consent of a lawyer's client to the processing of his personal data as part of the exercise of the right to a lawyer's request

Abstract

This article discusses theoretical and practical issues regarding the possibility of a lawyer obtaining information with limited access, in particular, information that contains the personal data of his client. The position is argued, according to which although the right to request a lawyer is a professional right of a lawyer, at the same time, taking into account the peculiarity of the information requested by him, which contains personal data of another person (confidential information), it is necessary to take into account the requirements of special legislation on the protection of personal data, primarily regarding stating the legal grounds (purpose) and the "convincing” need to obtain them.
 Within the framework of this study, attention is paid to the problematic issues of determining the essence of the lawyer's client's consent to the processing of his personal data through the lens of the lawyer's right to request. It is concluded that the possibility of obtaining information directly related to the lawyer's client and containing his personal data is conditioned by his giving the lawyer the appropriate consent to this.
 The requirements of the law and the position of the self-governing bodies of lawyers regarding the necessity (feasibility) of the lawyer obtaining consent to the processing of his personal data from the client are investigated. Attention is drawn to the fact that based on the absence of clear requirements in the legislation on the protection of personal data regarding the form of the above­mentioned consent, the position of the Bar Council of Ukraine is correct, according to which it should be set out in a separate clause of the contract on the provision of legal assistance, which can also be concluded in electronic form , and further provision of this contract (excerpt from it) is sufficient for obtaining confidential information about the lawyer's client.
 To achieve the goal, the author used research methods that are characteristic primarily of legal science. This research was conducted using, in particular, systemic-structural and dialectical methods of learning legal reality, which provided an opportunity to analyze the essence of the lawyer's right to receive information containing his client's personal data and the need to obtain the latter's consent to their processing.