The Supreme Court recently examined the use of recordings of employer-employee discussions as evidence in a lawsuit and provided the following useful principles.
This type of recording can be used as evidence if:
- at least one of the individuals involved in the recorded discussion is a party to the lawsuit; and
- the party against whom the recording has been filed as evidence has not duly contested its actuality or content (Supreme Court Case 5259/2017).
The disavowal of a recording submitted as evidence must:
- occur within the provided time limit;
- be clear, specific and explicit; and
- contain any allegations of differences between the real event and the recorded one (Supreme Court Case 1250/2018).
A request for disavowal must challenge the fact that the recorded conversation actually happened or that the content corresponds to what really happened. Generic challenges or challenges based on difficulties in identifying the people recorded or when the conversation was recorded are not permissible.
Once such evidence has been admitted, a discussion of its technical aspects will take place, which will require specific expertise on the media techniques used for the recording. Forensic support will be useful in this regard.
For further information on this topic please contact Andrea Stanchi or Francesco Pedroni at Stanchi Studio Legale by telephone (+39 02 546 9522) or email ([email protected] or [email protected]).
This article was first published by the International Law Office, a premium online legal update service for major companies and law firms worldwide. Register for a free subscription.
