Dimitri Shvorob v The Information Commissioner

Dimitri Shvorob v The Information Commissioner

The tribunal found that the justifications for section 32 exemptions, even if redacted, would render the councillors identifiable due to the personal nature of the information and context, making the data personal data. For one councillor, the information was special category data. Although there was a legitimate...

Source-derived case information.

Parties
Appellant: Dimitri Shvorob; Respondent: The Information Commissioner
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
25 November 2024
Procedural Posture
Appeal / Final Judgment
Outcome
Appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Freedom of Information, Personal Data, Special Category Data, Anonymisation, Legitimate Interest, Section 40(2) FOIA, Section 32 Localism Act
Information Rights Data Protection Freedom of Information Personal Data Special Category Data Anonymisation Legitimate Interest Section 40(2) FOIA +1 more

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Parties

Dimitri Shvorob

Appellant

The Information Commissioner

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Appeal / Final Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the requested justifications for section 32 exemptions are personal data relating to identifiable individuals
  2. 2 Whether any of the information is special category data
  3. 3 Whether disclosure is reasonably necessary for a legitimate interest and if such interests are overridden by data subjects' rights

Ratio Decidendi

The tribunal found that the justifications for section 32 exemptions, even if redacted, would render the councillors identifiable due to the personal nature of the information and context, making the data personal data. For one councillor, the information was special category data. Although there was a legitimate interest in disclosure, the rights and freedoms of the data subjects, including risks of violence or intimidation and reasonable expectations of privacy, outweighed the interest in disclosure. Therefore, the information was exempt under section 40(2) FOIA.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed