Mr X and Clare County Council (FOI Act 2014) [2016] IEIC 160242 (9 December 2016)

Mr X and Clare County Council (FOI Act 2014) [2016] IEIC 160242 (9 December 2016)

Disclosure of award criteria 1 and 4 would prejudice the competitive position of the successful tenderer and could result in material financial loss; public interest in transparency is outweighed by the need to protect commercially sensitive information.

Citation
[2016] IEIC 160242
Parties
Applicant: Mr X; Respondent: Clare County Council; Affected Third Party: Third Party (successful tenderer)
Jurisdiction
Ireland
Judgment Date
09 December 2016
Procedural Posture
FOI Review / Final Decision by Information Commissioner
Outcome
refusal affirmed
Legal Topics
Commercially Sensitive Information, Tender Process, Public Interest Balancing, FOI Act 2014 Section 36
Freedom of Information Public Procurement Commercially Sensitive Information Tender Process Public Interest Balancing FOI Act 2014 Section 36

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 5 Authorities cited 5 Party arguments 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Mr X

Applicant

Clare County Council

Respondent

Third Party (successful tenderer)

Affected Third Party

Procedural Posture

FOI Review / Final Decision by Information Commissioner

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether Clare County Council was justified in refusing access to parts of a successful tender submission under section 36(1)(b) of the FOI Act

Ratio Decidendi

Disclosure of award criteria 1 and 4 would prejudice the competitive position of the successful tenderer and could result in material financial loss; public interest in transparency is outweighed by the need to protect commercially sensitive information.

Court Disposition

refusal affirmed

Orders

  • Access to remaining parts of record 44 refused under section 36(1)(b) FOI Act