Information Commissioner's Office

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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Information Commissioner's Office >> Ministry of Justice (Central government) [2024] UKICO 302476 (7 May 2024)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKICO/2024/302476.html
Cite as: [2024] UKICO 302476

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Ministry of Justice

The complainant requested complaint related information about judges from the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (the ‘JCIO’), which falls under the remit of the Ministry of Justice (the ‘MOJ’). The JCIO argued that it is an independent statutory body and is not a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘FOIA’) and is therefore not obliged to respond to FOIA requests. The Commissioner’s decision is that the JCIO is not a statutory body. He finds that the JCIO is part of the MOJ which is a public authority for the purposes of FOIA for the reasons set out in this notice. By failing to confirm whether it held the requested information within 20 working days, the MOJ has breached sections 1(1)(a) and 10(1) of FOIA. The Commissioner requires the MOJ to issue a fresh response to the complainant’s request under FOIA within 30 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.

FOI 10: Complaint upheld FOI 1: Complaint upheld

Decision notice: 302476