Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service

The complainant has requested information from the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (‘NICTS’) in relation to the daily lists for the Northern Ireland Court of Judicature.  The NICTS refused to disclose that information, citing section 40(2) of the FOIA as a basis for non-disclosure.  The Commissioner’s decision is that the NICTS has correctly applied section 40 (2) of the FOIA to the majority of the requested information.  Some of the requested information consists of names of companies rather than individuals, and therefore section 40(2) would not be applicable to that information.  The Commissioner requires the NICTS to disclose to the complainant the part of the requested information which consists of names of companies.

The NICTS must take this step within 35 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.