Crown Prosecution Service
- Date 4 July 2019
- Sector Police and criminal justice
- Decision(s) FOI 42: Upheld
The complainant has requested information about the law relating to the competence and compellability of the Sovereign to give evidence in court proceedings. The Crown Prosecution Service withheld the information, citing section 42(1) (Legal professional privilege) of the FOIA.
The Commissioner’s decision is that although section 42(1) of the FOIA is engaged, the public interest favours disclosure.
The Commissioner requires the Crown Prosecution Service to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.
- Disclose the withheld information to the complainant.
The Crown Prosecution Service must take these steps 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. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2019/0275 allowed. First-tier tribunal (General Regulatory chamber) information rights appeal GIA/51/2021 UT Appeal Dismissed.