Information Commissioner's Office

Ministry of Justice

10 April 2017, Central government

The complainant made a series of requests to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in which he requested information relating to the MoJ’s processes for handling correspondence and information relating to its responsibilities under the Data Protection Act (DPA). The MoJ relied on sections 12(1) (cost of compliance) and 14(1) (vexatious request) of the FOIA to refuse to provide the requested information. The Commissioner has investigated the MoJ’s application of section 14(1). The Commissioner’s decision is that the complainant’s requests are vexatious and therefore the MoJ was entitled to refuse them in reliance on section 14(1) of the FOIA. She also found that, by failing to respond to the requests within 20 working days of receipt, the MoJ breached sections 1(1) and 10(1) of the FOIA (time for compliance). The Commissioner does not require the MoJ to take any steps as a result of this decision.

FOI 14: Not upheld FOI 1: Upheld FOI 10: Upheld