''Tournier v National Provincial and Union Bank of England'' 9241 KB 461 was a landmark legal case in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The lead decision was given by

Bankes LJ Sir John Eldon Bankes, (17 April 1854 – 31 December 1946) was a Welsh judge of the King's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice, and later the Lord Justice of Appeal. Biography Born in Northop, Flintshire on 17 April 1854, he was ...

. It established the conditions under which banks owed confidentiality to their clients, allowing four circumstances wherein banks were not required to guard privacy: where compelled by (1) law, (2) public duty, (3) the interest of the bank, or (4) where the client had consented, even implicitly, to disclosure. In this case the bank disclosed to its customer's employer the fact that one of the customer's unpaid cheques was drawn in favour of a bookmaker's account. As a result, the customer's employer did not renew his contract with the customer. The

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

held that confidentiality was an implied term in the customer's contract and that any breach could give rise to liability in damages if loss results.

References

{{reflist Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases English banking case law 1924 in case law 1924 in British law Consumer protection case law English law articles needing infoboxes United Kingdom privacy case law NatWest Group litigation