France: Recordings Made Without Consent can be Deemed Admissible in Court

An employee claimed that she had been bullied into entering into a mutual termination agreement and produced the transcript of a recording of her conversation with her employer which was made without the employer’s consent. The Court of Appeal deemed the transcript automatically inadmissible, but the French Supreme Court ruled that they should have examined if allowing this evidence affected the general fairness of the proceedings by considering whether this evidence was the only way to establish the truth and whether its impact on the right to privacy was proportionate.

This ruling does not mean that unauthorized recordings will always be admissible. In a recent ruling, the French Supreme Court had ruled that this is not admissible if the employee had other ways of making their case.

Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-House Counsel

Ensure HR and management are aware of the fact that unauthorised recordings may in some cases be deemed admissible in case of litigation.