This chapter discusses the legal duty of confidentiality (or secrecy) that banks owe their customers. The real problems in the application of the doctrine in practice are two-fold. First, confidentiality has a habit of getting in the way of commercially acceptable practices. There is the potential for breaches of confidentiality where a bank performs different functions. For instance, banks may like to distribute information throughout the corporate group so that a range of financial, insurance, and other services can be marketed to customers. Secondly, confidentiality can act as a cloak for wrongdoing, often on a massive scale. Political leaders who have exploited their people, drug barons, and criminals have used the banking system to spirit away their ill-gotten gains. Bank confidentiality has then acted as an obstacle to bringing the culprits to justice and recovering the booty. Confidentiality also provides one of the explanations of how international terrorists have transferred financing round the world without detection.
Chapter
9. The Duty of Confidentiality
Ross Cranston, Emilios Avgouleas, Kristin van Zweiten, Theodor van Sante, and Christoper Hare
Chapter
Boardman v Phipps [1967] 2 AC 46, House of Lords
Essential Cases: Equity & Trusts provides a bridge between course textbooks and key case judgments. This case document summarizes the facts and decision in Boardman v Phipps [1967] 2 AC 46, House of Lords. The document also includes supporting commentary from author Derek Whayman.
Chapter
Boardman v Phipps [1967] 2 AC 46, House of Lords
Essential Cases: Equity & Trusts provides a bridge between course textbooks and key case judgments. This case document summarizes the facts and decision in Boardman v Phipps [1967] 2 AC 46, House of Lords. The document also includes supporting commentary from author Derek Whayman.
Chapter
44. Is the Information Capable of Being Protected?
L. Bently, B. Sherman, D. Gangjee, and P. Johnson
This chapter looks at the type of information that is capable of being protected by the action for breach of confidence. More specifically, it examines four limitations that are placed on the type of information that may be protected under the action: where the information is trivial, immoral, vague, or in the public domain. The chapter also considers the notion of ‘relative secrecy’ along with issues associated with encrypted information and the so-called `springboard’ doctrine.
Chapter
28. Security and smart cities
Ben Bradford and Pete Fussey
This chapter explains the profound implications of digital society on the questions of crime, security, surveillance, and policing. In recent decades, digital technologies brought profound changes to human societies and the way they are governed. The chapter explains that digital processes do more than accelerate the production and availability of information, which highlights the implications of digital society from the abundance of data. The digital revolution has rendered criminological preoccupations more urgent and pressing than ever before. The chapter also provides an overview of the concept of a smart city by considering its criminogenic consequences and its potential for crime prevention and surveillance.
