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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1982 - SECT 50

Applications for review by the Tribunal

S. 50(1) repealed by No. 10155 s. 67(1)(e)(i), new s. 50(1) inserted by No. 6/2012 s. 15(2).

    (1)     Subject to this section, an applicant may apply to the Tribunal for review of—

S. 50(1)(a) repealed by No. 20/2017 s. 42(2)(c).

    *     *     *     *     *

S. 50(1)(b) amended by No. 20/2017 s. 42(1).

        (b)     a decision of the Information Commissioner refusing to grant access to a document in accordance with a request;

S. 50(1)(c) amended by No. 20/2017 s. 42(1).

        (c)     a decision of the Information Commissioner deferring the provision of access to a document;

S. 50(1)(d) amended by No. 20/2017 s. 42(1)(2)(a).

        (d)     a decision of an agency or Minister refusing to grant access to a document in accordance with a request, if the Information Commissioner has made a determination under section 49G(1) in respect of that request;

S. 50(1)(e) substituted by No. 20/2017 s. 42(2)(b).

        (e)     a decision of an agency or a Minister refusing to grant access to a document that is claimed to be exempt under section 29A;

S. 50(1)(ea) inserted by No. 20/2017 s. 42 ( 2)(b).

        (ea)     a decision of an agency or a Minister refusing to grant access to a document or refusing to amend a document, or a decision of a principal officer refusing to specify a document in a statement, that is taken to have been made under section 53;

S. 50(1)(f) repealed by No. 20/2017 s. 42(2)(c).

    *     *     *     *     *

S. 50(1)(g) amended by No. 20/2017 s. 42(1).

        (g)     a decision as to the amount of a charge that is required to be paid before access to a document is granted, whether or not the charge has already been paid by the applicant, if the Information Commissioner has certified that the matter is one of sufficient importance for the Tribunal to consider.

S. 50(2) amended by Nos 10155 s. 67(1)(e)
(ii)–(iv), 2/2001 s. 101(1)(e), substituted by No. 6/2012 s. 15(2).

    (2)     A person who served a notice under section 12(1) may apply to the Tribunal for a review of a decision under section 12(2)(a) not to specify a document in a statement.

S. 50(3) repealed by No. 10155 s. 67(1)(e)(v), new s. 50(3) inserted by No. 6/2012 s. 15(2), substituted by No. 20/2017 s. 42(3).

    (3)     Subject to subsection (3AC), a person who is the subject of information in a document referred to in  section 33(3) (or in the case of a deceased person, that person's next of kin) may apply to the Tribunal for a review of a decision to disclose that document.

S. 50(3A) inserted by No. 6/2012 s. 15(2), substituted by No. 20/2017 s. 42(4).

    (3A)     Subject to subsection (3AC), a business, commercial or financial undertaking may apply to the Tribunal for a review of a decision to disclose a document referred to in  section 34.

S. 50(3AB) inserted by No. 20/2017 s. 42(4).

    (3AB)     Subject to subsection (3AC), a person who communicated information or a matter in confidence, or on whose behalf information or a matter was communicated (or in the case of a deceased person, that person's next of kin), may apply to the Tribunal for a review of a decision to disclose a document referred to in section 35(1).

S. 50(3AC) inserted by No. 20/2017 s. 42(4).

    (3AC)     A person or undertaking may not apply for review under subsection (3), (3A) or (3AB) if that person or undertaking consented to the disclosure of the document, and the document was disclosed in accordance with that consent.

Note

A person or undertaking may consent to disclosure of a document subject to the deletion of certain information in that document—see sections 33(2B), 34(3) and 35(1A).

S. 50(3B) inserted by No. 6/2012 s. 15(2), amended by No. 20/2017 s. 42(1).

    (3B)     A person who is the subject of information in a document referred to in section 39 (or, in the case of a deceased person, that person's next-of-kin) may apply to the Tribunal for a review of a decision by the Information Commissioner or a principal officer of an agency or a Minister not to amend the document pursuant to a request under section 39.

S. 50(3C) inserted by No. 6/2012 s. 15(2), amended by Nos 22/2016 s. 175, 20/2017 s. 42(5).

    (3C)     An applicant who has applied to the Health Complaints Commissioner under Division 2 for a conciliation in relation to a decision of an agency or Minister refusing to grant access to a document in accordance with a request may apply to the Tribunal for a review of the decision of the agency or Minister if the matter is not conciliated under that Division.

S. 50(3D) inserted by No. 6/2012 s. 15(2), amended by No. 20/2017 s. 42(1)(5).

    (3D)     An agency or Minister may apply to the Tribunal for review of a decision of the Information Commissioner under section 49P.

S. 50(3E) inserted by No. 6/2012 s. 15(2), repealed by No. 59/2014 s. 17(1).

    *     *     *     *     *

S. 50(3F) inserted by No. 6/2012 s. 15(2), amended by No. 20/2017 s. 42(1)(5).

    (3F)     An agency or Minister must notify the Information Commissioner in writing as soon as practicable of an application for review under subsection (3D).

S. 50(3FA) inserted by No. 59/2014 s. 17(2), amended by No. 20/2017 s. 42(1)(5).

    (3FA)     If an application for review is made under subsection (1)(b), (c), (d) or (g), the agency or Minister concerned must, as soon as practicable, notify the Information Commissioner in writing.

S. 50(3G) inserted by No. 6/2012 s. 15(2).

    (3G)     An application for review of a decision cannot be made under this section by a person if—

S. 50(3G)(a) amended by No. 20/2017 s. 42(5).

        (a)     a fresh decision has been made by the agency or Minister under Division 1 and the person has accepted the fresh decision; or

S. 50(3G)(b) amended by No. 20/2017 s. 42(1).

        (b)     the decision was made by the Information Commissioner in accordance with section 49N.

S. 50(3H) inserted by No. 6/2012 s. 15(2), amended by No. 20/2017 s. 42(6).

    (3H)     A person is not entitled to apply to the Tribunal for review of a decision in relation to which subsection (1), (3), (3A) or (3AB) applies if the person has made or caused to be made an application for review of the decision to the Visitor of a University unless—

        (a)     the Visitor has declined to conduct that review; or

        (b)     a period of 30 days has elapsed since the day on which that application for review was made.

S. 50(4) amended by Nos 10155 s. 67(1)(e) (vi)(vii), 7/2003 s. 44(3), 20/2017 s. 42(7).

    (4)     On the hearing of an application for review the Tribunal shall have, in addition to any other power, the same powers as an agency or a Minister in respect of a request, including power to decide that access should be granted to an exempt document (not being a document referred to in section 28, section 29A, section 31(3), section 31A, or in section 33) where the Tribunal is of opinion that the public interest requires that access to the document should be granted under this Act.

S. 50(5) amended by Nos 10155 s. 67(1)(e)(vii), 20/2017 s. 42(8).

    (5)     Where a certificate has been given in respect of a document under section 61ZA(2), the powers of the Tribunal do not extend to reviewing the decision to give the certificate and shall be limited to determining whether a document has been properly classified as an exempt document within the meaning of section 28.

S. 50(5A) inserted by No. 7/2003 s. 44(4).

    (5A)     Where a certificate has been given in respect of a document under section 29A(2), the powers of the Tribunal do not extend to reviewing the decision to give the certificate and shall be limited to determining the question whether there exist reasonable grounds for the claim that the document is an exempt document under section 29A.

S. 50(6) inserted by No. 58/1993 s. 13.

    (6)     The Tribunal may refuse to review a decision of an agency or Minister to refuse the request of a person for access to a document if the Tribunal is satisfied that it has previously reviewed a decision of the agency or Minister to refuse access to the same document or the same information.

S. 51 (Heading) amended by No. 20/2017 s. 43(1).

S. 51 amended by Nos 10155 s. 67(1)(f), 2/2001 s. 101(1)(f)(g), substituted by No. 6/2012 s. 16.



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