Friday, February 08, 2008

Court of Session quashes FOI Commissioner's ruling on Trading Standards complaints

Fresh from a spate of warnings to the Government & politicians over the implementation of judicial reforms, the courts have now struck down a ruling by Kevin Dunion, the Freedom of Information Commissioner, that Dumfries & Galloway Council disclose details about a 'particular company' over a period of 10 years which operates across Scotland.

Another message from the judiciary along the lines of 'don't mess with us' ?

Maybe the person making the FOI request would be advised to make the details of his knowledge public for all to see and judge for themselves ...

BBC News reports :

Court quashes information ruling

The Court of Session has backed a council's refusal to comply with a Freedom of Information request.

Dumfries and Galloway Council had appealed against a decision by Information Commissioner Kevin Dunion ordering it to release the details.

The request centred on complaints to trading standards about a particular company over a period of 10 years.

The council said the Enterprise Act prohibited disclosure and its appeal has been ruled to be successful.

The case started in February 2005 when an FOI request was made by a member of the public to all 32 councils across Scotland.

Request declined

It sought details of any complaints lodged against a particular company, its directors and employees over the previous 10 years.

In addition the date of the complaint, a summary of its nature and the outcome of any investigation were requested.

A number of councils - including the Dumfries and Galloway authority - declined to issue the information.

That resulted in a ruling by the Information Commissioner in November 2006 that the details should be released.

However, the Court of Session has now ruled against that judgment and quashed the commissioner's decision.

No comments: