[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 32, Volume 5]
[Revised as of July 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 32CFR727.8]

[Page 284]
 
                       TITLE 32--NATIONAL DEFENSE
 
                   CHAPTER VI--DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
 
PART 727_LEGAL ASSISTANCE--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 727.8  Confidential and privileged character of service provided.

    All information and files pertaining to the persons served will be 
treated as confidential and privileged in the legal sense as outlined in 
the Code of Professional Responsibility, as opposed to confidential in 
the military sense of security information. These privileged matters may 
not be disclosed to anyone by personnel rendering the service, except 
upon the specific permission of the person concerned, and disclosure 
thereof may not be lawfully ordered by superior military authority. This 
restriction does not prohibit providing the nonprivileged statistical 
data required by Sec. 727.13 of this part. Protection of the 
confidences of a legal assistance client is essential to the proper 
functioning of the legal assistance program in order to assure all 
military personnel, regardless of grade, rank, or position, that they 
may disclose frankly and completely all material facts of their problem 
to those rendering the service without fear that their confidence will 
be abused or used against them in any way. While case files are not 
subject to the control of the Department of the Navy and therefore do 
not constitute a ``system of records'' within the meaning of the Privacy 
Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), no information which identifies an 
individual legal assistance client by name or any other particular, such 
as social security number, shall be extracted from the case files and 
incorporated into any file or index system aside from or in addition to 
the information contained on the legal assistance form (NAVJAG 5801/9) 
or locally used equivalent. Strict adherence to the foregoing will 
ensure compliance with the Privacy Act. Administrative and clerical 
personnel assigned to legal assistance offices shall maintain the 
confidential nature of matters handled.

[42 FR 35957, July 13, 1977, as amended at 65 FR 26749, May 9, 2000]