The complainant submitted an information request to the Judicial Conduct Investigation Office (JCIO), which operates within the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), asking whether they had received complaints against a named District Judge, the nature of those complaints (if any) and whether the complaints received (if any) were upheld. The MoJ refused to confirm or deny whether the information was held citing sections 40(5) (personal information) and 44 (2) prohibitions on disclosure) of FOIA. The Commissioner has investigated the MOJ’s application of section 44(2). Her decision is that the MoJ has correctly applied that exemption on the basis that the confirmation or denial was prohibited by section 139 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (CRA). The Commissioner finds, however, that in failing to respond to the complainant’s request within the statutory timescale the MoJ breached section 10(1) of FOIA. She requires no steps to be taken.
FOI 10: Complaint upheld FOI 44: Complaint not upheld
Citations:
[2018] UKICO FS50692689
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 23 April 2022; Ref: scu.617396
