Matthew Clark v The Information Commissioner

Matthew Clark v The Information Commissioner

The council was entitled to rely on regulation 12(4)(b) of the EIR to refuse the request as manifestly unreasonable because fulfilling the request would impose a significant and disproportionate burden on its resources. The public interest in disclosure did not outweigh the burden on the council. The tribunal found...

Source-derived case information.

Parties
Appellant: Matthew Clark; Respondent: The Information Commissioner
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
06 April 2024
Procedural Posture
Information Rights Appeal / Final Judgment After Hearing on the Papers
Outcome
Appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Freedom of Information, Environmental Information Regulations, Manifestly Unreasonable Requests, Public Interest Test
Information Law Administrative Law Freedom of Information Environmental Information Regulations Manifestly Unreasonable Requests Public Interest Test

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Parties

Matthew Clark

Appellant

The Information Commissioner

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Information Rights Appeal / Final Judgment After Hearing on the Papers

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the council was entitled to rely on regulation 12(4)(b) of the EIR to refuse the information request as manifestly unreasonable
  2. 2 Whether the public interest test under regulation 12(4)(b) was properly applied
  3. 3 Whether the council breached regulation 11 by failing to conduct an internal review within 40 working days

Ratio Decidendi

The council was entitled to rely on regulation 12(4)(b) of the EIR to refuse the request as manifestly unreasonable because fulfilling the request would impose a significant and disproportionate burden on its resources. The public interest in disclosure did not outweigh the burden on the council. The tribunal found no error in the Commissioner's decision or application of the law.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed