Mark Jervis v The Information Commissioner
[2023] UKFTT 208 (GRC)
Roy Clarke v The Information Commissioner
24 February 2023
[2023] UKFTT 206 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
Someone appealed a decision about not getting information they requested. The judge said the appeal was about the wrong thing, so they threw it out because they couldn't deal with it.
Key Facts
- •Appeal against Information Commissioner's Decision Notice dated 4 October 2022.
- •Decision Notice upheld the public authority's refusal to confirm or deny holding requested information under s. 40(5)(B) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
- •Appellant argued the public authority's refusal confirmed his suspicions and sought a sanction for what he considered a 'criminalising neighbour dispute'.
- •Information Commissioner applied for strike out due to lack of reasonable prospects of success or lack of Tribunal jurisdiction.
- •Appellant's response included an unrelated press report about Michael Gove criticizing the public authority.
Legal Principles
The Tribunal's jurisdiction is limited to determining appeals alleging the Decision Notice was wrong in law or involved an inappropriate exercise of discretion.
Freedom of Information Act 2000, sections 57 and 58
A strike-out is mandatory if the Tribunal lacks jurisdiction.
Tribunal Rules, rule 8(2)(a)
Outcomes
Appeal struck out.
The Tribunal lacked jurisdiction as the appeal did not challenge the Decision Notice's legality or the exercise of discretion but focused on the public authority's actions regarding a neighbour dispute.