ICO Decision: Request To Judicial Department

Information Commissioner Gitanjali Gutierrez issued a Decision regarding the Judicial Department, with the ICO office not requiring the Judicial Department to take any further action in response to the request.

A spokesperson said, “On 27 February 2019, Information Commissioner Gitanjali Gutierrez issued Decision 06/2019. This decision addresses whether the Judicial Department correctly denied public access to records because the records did not exist, in reliance on section 16[1][a] of the Public Access to Information [PATI] Act 2010.

“The Applicant sought records related to documentation supporting the ‘actual outcome’ performance measures of 100% of cases captured in the Court Smart System for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013. The Judicial Department had denied the request on the grounds that such records did not exist.

Summary from the decision:

“During the Review, the parties agreed to engage in a facilitated resolution. As part of this process, the Judicial Department conducted further searches and located the responsive records. The Judicial Department also voluntarily searched for additional, related records. It subsequently issued a new decision providing the Applicant with full access to all of the relevant records.

“The Information Commissioner has found that the Judicial Department incorrectly relied on section 16[1][a] of the PATI Act to deny access to the records because the records existed.

“The Information Commissioner, however, is satisfied that the Judicial Department has now located and processed the records in accordance with the provisions of the PATI Act. The Information Commissioner has expressed appreciation to the Judicial Department and Applicant for their efforts and cooperation during the review.”

The full Information Commissioner’s Decision 06/2019 follows below [PDF here]:

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