Legal privilege in South Africa is a fundamental substantive right rather than a mere evidentiary rule, and “any claim to a relaxation of the privilege…must be approached with the greatest circumspection” (Euroshipping Corporation of Monrovia v. Minister of Agricultural Economics and Marketing). As such, unless expressly empowered by statute, a governmental regulator is prohibited from encroaching on this right. Communications between a lawyer and client for the purpose of obtaining advice to enable the client to commit an offense are, however, not protected by the privilege (Thint (Pty) Ltd v. National Director of Public Prosecutions; Zuma v. National Director of Public Prosecutions).