Ministry of Justice

The complainant requested an electronic copy of Her Majesty’s Government’s submission to the Ousley review into the Justice and Security Act 2013. The MOJ cited initially section 22 of FOIA and refused to provide the requested information because it was intended for future publication. Following an internal review, the MOJ additionally cited section 36(2)(c) of FOIA (the exemption for prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs). The Commissioner’s decision is that the MOJ was correct to apply section 36(2)(c) of FOIA in this case at the time of the request. As he upheld the MOJ’s reliance on section 36, the Commissioner has not found it necessary to consider its citing of section 22 of FOIA. No steps are required as a result of this notice.