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The Supreme Court Decision on Confidentiality and FOI

 

The Supreme Court on 19/07/11 delivered its long-awaited judgment in the case of The Governors and Guardians of the Hospital for the Relief of Poor Lying-In Women v The Information Commissioner.  The five-judge Supreme Court upheld the appeal of the hospital (more commonly known as the Rotunda Hospital) against the Commissioner’s decision by a majority of four to one.

This decision is important because it now clarifies that, in order to be protected by the confidentiality provisions of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, the information concerned does not have to be confidential.  In fact, it is the circumstances in which the information was submitted to the public body that will determine whether the information is protected. 

Please click here for the full article on our ezine.

Author

Catherine Allen

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