Ms. X and The Courts Service (FOI Act 2014) (The Courts Service) [2018] IEIC 170297 (26 March 2018)

Ms. X and The Courts Service (FOI Act 2014) (The Courts Service) [2018] IEIC 170297 (26 March 2018)

The Courts Service was justified in refusing access because the requested records do not exist in discrete form and fulfilling the request would require creation of new records from manual files, which is not required under the FOI Act. Section 15(1)(a) applies as the records cannot be found or do not exist after reasonable steps.

Citation
[2018] IEIC 170297
Parties
Applicant: Ms. X; Respondent: The Courts Service
Jurisdiction
Ireland
Judgment Date
26 March 2018
Procedural Posture
FOI Review / Decision of Information Commissioner Following Internal Review
Outcome
Request refused (varied basis)
Legal Topics
FOI Act 2014, Access to Records, Refusal of Request, Creation of Records, Pre Commencement Records
Administrative Law Freedom of Information FOI Act 2014 Access to Records Refusal of Request Creation of Records Pre Commencement Records

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Parties

Ms. X

Applicant

The Courts Service

Respondent

Procedural Posture

FOI Review / Decision of Information Commissioner Following Internal Review

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Courts Service was justified in refusing access to details of upgradings, promotions and allowances of various staff between 1996 and 2003 under section 15(1)(c) of the FOI Act
  2. 2 Whether section 15(1)(a) applies as the records do not exist or cannot be found

Ratio Decidendi

The Courts Service was justified in refusing access because the requested records do not exist in discrete form and fulfilling the request would require creation of new records from manual files, which is not required under the FOI Act. Section 15(1)(a) applies as the records cannot be found or do not exist after reasonable steps.

Court Disposition

Request refused (varied basis)

Orders

  • Refusal of access affirmed under section 15(1)(a) of the FOI Act rather than section 15(1)(c)