Dalton, R (On the Application Of) v The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) [2020] EWHC 2013 (Admin) (27 July 2020)

Dalton, R (On the Application Of) v The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) [2020] EWHC 2013 (Admin) (27 July 2020)

Permission to proceed with judicial review of the CPS's later decisions was refused because there was no longer any arguable ground with a real prospect of success and an adequate alternative remedy existed via the Information Commissioner. The original CPS decision of March 2019 was unlawful for failing to give individual consideration to the subject access request, but this was remedied by subsequent disclosure. The claim for damages was not determined and was transferred to the County Court.

Citation
[2020] EWHC 2013 (Admin)
Parties
Claimant: John Dalton; Defendant: Crown Prosecution Service; Interested Party: Information Commissioner
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
27 July 2020
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review / Permission and Substantive Hearing
Outcome
Permission to proceed with judicial review of later CPS decisions refused; original claim for judicial review succeeds to the extent of a declaration of unlawfulness of the March 2019 decision; claim for damages transferred to County Court.
Legal Topics
Judicial Review Procedure, Subject Access Requests, Data Protection Act 2018, Alternative Remedies, Disclosure, Legal Professional Privilege
Administrative Law Data Protection Law Criminal Law Judicial Review Procedure Subject Access Requests Data Protection Act 2018 Alternative Remedies Disclosure +1 more

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Parties

John Dalton

Claimant

Crown Prosecution Service

Defendant

Information Commissioner

Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review / Permission and Substantive Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the CPS lawfully refused a subject access request under s.45(1) DPA 2018
  2. 2 Whether subsequent CPS decisions and redactions were lawful and procedurally fair
  3. 3 Whether judicial review is appropriate where an alternative remedy exists via the Information Commissioner

Ratio Decidendi

Permission to proceed with judicial review of the CPS's later decisions was refused because there was no longer any arguable ground with a real prospect of success and an adequate alternative remedy existed via the Information Commissioner. The original CPS decision of March 2019 was unlawful for failing to give individual consideration to the subject access request, but this was remedied by subsequent disclosure. The claim for damages was not determined and was transferred to the County Court.

Court Disposition

Permission to proceed with judicial review of later CPS decisions refused; original claim for judicial review succeeds to the extent of a declaration of unlawfulness of the March 2019 decision; claim for damages transferred to County Court.

Orders

  • Declaration that the original CPS decision of 12 March 2019 was unlawful.
  • Permission to proceed with judicial review of the 8 November 2019 and 25 February 2020 decisions refused.