Keith Vernon Gell v The Information Commissioner
[2024] UKFTT 713 (GRC)
Irwin Ramsay v The Information Commissioner
1 August 2024
[2024] UKFTT 791 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
If you're unhappy with how the Information Commissioner handled your data complaint, you can't appeal their decision to a lower court. Only the High Court can review their decisions. The lower courts can only deal with procedural issues, not the actual outcome of the investigation.
Key Facts
- •The case concerns an application to the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) challenging the Information Commissioner's (IC) investigation into a data protection complaint.
- •The applicant sought a review of the IC's substantive findings and actions.
- •The FTT considered the scope of its powers under section 166 of the Data Protection Act 2018.
- •Relevant case law included R (Delo) v Information Commissioner and Cortes v Information Commissioner.
Legal Principles
The Information Commissioner has exclusive discretion in deciding the scale and nature of investigations into data protection complaints.
R (Delo) v Information Commissioner [2023] 1 WLR 1327, paragraph 57
Section 166 of the Data Protection Act 2018 is a limited procedural provision, not allowing appeals against the substantive outcome of investigations.
Cortes v Information Commissioner (UA-2023-001298-GDPA), paragraph 33
The FTT does not have an oversight function regarding the IC's internal processes; this function resides with bodies such as the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and the High Court.
Cortes v Information Commissioner (UA-2023-001298-GDPA)
Outcomes
The FTT dismissed the application.
The FTT lacks the power to review the IC's substantive findings or actions. Section 166 of the Data Protection Act 2018 does not provide a right of appeal against the substantive outcome of an investigation. The application was deemed a hopeless attempt to collaterally attack the IC's decision and a misuse of Tribunal resources.