Speak no evil : non-disclosure agreements and Scots law

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Brown, Jonathan and Dodd, Leslie (2025) Speak no evil : non-disclosure agreements and Scots law. Scots Law Times, 2025 (35). pp. 319-323. ISSN 0036-908X

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Abstract

Considers the (mis)use of non-disclosure agreements by parties who seek to suppress allegations of (criminal and/or delictual) wrongdoing. Argues that such agreements are necessarily pacta illicita - that is, unlawful and so unenforceable or void according to the law of Scotland. Concludes that although there can be no legal justification for 'buying silence' concerning wrongdoing in Scotland, the law of unjustified enrichment does not allow for the recovery of any premiums paid in consideration of a party's silence.

ORCID iDs

Brown, Jonathan ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9198-9672 and Dodd, Leslie;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)