Corporate privilege after Jardine, Serendipity and Aabar: a clearer but more disciplined landscape
Recent decisions show a judicial trend: privilege remains protected, but only where its foundations — confidentiality, client identification and purpose — are established.
This article is co-authored by Astraea’s Joe Young and Dr Khrystyna Khanas
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A series of recent decisions has clarified the operation of legal professional privilege in the corporate context. Taken together, Jardine Strategic Limited v Oasis Investments II Master Fund Ltd and 80 others (No 2) [2025] UKPC 34, The Serendipity Centre Ltd v Tinson [2026] EWHC 349 (Ch), and Aabar Holdings S.à.r.l v Glencore plc [2026] EWHC 877 (Comm) point in the same direction. The courts are reaffirming the importance of privilege, while also insisting that it must be analysed by reference to its principles, rather than assumption, status or formulaic assertion.
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