Roy Clarke v The Information Commissioner
[2023] UKFTT 206 (GRC)
Mark Jervis v The Information Commissioner
24 February 2023
[2023] UKFTT 208 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
Someone appealed a decision about access to information. The judge said they couldn't hear the case because the appeal wasn't about whether the rules were followed correctly, but about how someone acted. The judge didn't have the power to decide that part of the complaint, so the case was dismissed.
Key Facts
- •Appeal against Information Commissioner's Decision Notice (28 September 2022).
- •Decision Notice upheld public authority's reliance on s.22 FOIA 2000 exemption.
- •Appellant's grounds of appeal challenged public authority's behaviour, not the Decision Notice's legality.
- •Information Commissioner applied for strike out under rule 8(3)(c) of the Tribunal's rules.
- •Appellant's submissions focused on the public authority's conduct.
Legal Principles
Tribunal's jurisdiction is limited to determining if a Decision Notice is wrong in law or involved an inappropriate exercise of discretion.
s. 57 and 58 FOIA 2000
Appeal can only proceed if it alleges the Decision Notice was wrong in law or involved an inappropriate exercise of discretion.
Statutory framework created by Parliament
Tribunal lacks jurisdiction to review the behavior of a public authority.
Implied from the Tribunal's statutory jurisdiction
Outcomes
Appeal struck out.
Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to determine the appeal as the grounds did not challenge the legality of the Decision Notice but focused on the public authority's conduct.