Frederico Garcia Lopes De La Torre v The Information Commissioner
[2023] UKFTT 304 (GRC)
Edward Williams v The Information Commissioner
13 February 2023
[2023] UKFTT 118 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
Someone's case was thrown out of court, and they tried to appeal that decision. The judge said no, because the reasons they gave for appealing weren't good enough, and one of the reasons was about something the court couldn't even deal with.
Key Facts
- •Applicant applied for an order under s. 166 of the Data Protection Act 2018.
- •Application was struck out as having no reasonable prospect of success.
- •Applicant's application for reinstatement was refused.
- •Applicant applied for refusal to reinstate to be set aside and alternatively for permission to appeal.
- •Applicant's grounds of appeal: Tribunal has power to set aside the strike-out decision; strike-out decision was erroneous due to lack of delegated authority in the Information Commissioner's decision.
Legal Principles
Tribunal has power to set aside a strike-out decision under Rule 41, but only if the criteria are met.
Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009 (as amended)
Section 166 DPA 2018 is a procedural remedy only.
Data Protection Act 2018
Permission to appeal requires a realistic prospect of success.
Smith v Cosworth Casting Processes Ltd [1997] 1 WLR 1538
Rule 5(2) applies to case management of 'proceedings', not struck-out appeals.
Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009 (as amended)
Rule 8 provides a specific power of reinstatement, but not applicable in this case.
Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009 (as amended)
Outcomes
Permission to appeal refused.
Applicant's grounds of appeal are not arguable; the first ground is based on an unmade submission, and the second challenges the Information Commissioner's decision, which is outside the Tribunal's jurisdiction. The Tribunal has no power to reinstate the struck-out appeal under the relevant rules.