Dear Mr Adamson,

SUBJECT: Freedom of Information Request

Thank you for your e-mail of 5^th August 2009, in which you asked for information about the oaths of office taken by judicial office-holders, and where the public records concerning such oaths by individuals may be accessed from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

Your request has been passed to me because I have responsibility for answering requests which relate to Judicial Appointments and HR Division and which are handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

I can confirm that the Department holds some of the information you are seeking and I am pleased to inform you that this information is already in the public domain.

All judicial office holders, when they are sworn in, take two oaths/affirmations. The first is the oath of allegiance and the second the judicial oath. Lords Justices and Head of Divisions are members of the Privy Council and also take that oath. Information on these oaths can be found at the following internet addresses:

http://opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1868/cukpga_18680072_en_1

http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/about_judiciary/judges_and_the_constitution/index.htm

http://www.privy-council.org.uk/output/page25.asp

As the information you are seeking is already available in the public domain, it is exempt from disclosure under Section 21 (Information accessible to the applicant by other means) of the FOIA. The above is provided as a matter of courtesy and outside the statuary duties of the act.

In regard to part two of your request I am not certain what you mean by “where the public records concerning such oaths by individuals may be accessed”. The fact that someone has been sworn in is not secret, but arrangements for recording the event are a matter for each court, and differ from court to court. Such records usually form part of an individual's personal record and it should be noted that if you were to request this information it would likely be refused under Section 40, personal information, of the FOIA.

As part of our obligations under the FOIA, the Ministry of Justice has an independent review process. If you are dissatisfied with this decision, you may write to request an internal review. The internal review will be carried out by someone who did not make the original decision, and they will re-assess how the Department handled the original request.

If you wish to request an internal review, please write or send an email to the Data Access and Compliance Unit within two months of the date of this letter, at the following address:

Data Access and Compliance Unit

Information Directorate

Ministry of Justice

1^st Floor, Zone 1C

Post point 1.41

12 Petty France

London

SW1H 9AJ

e-mail: [email address]

If you remain dissatisfied after an internal review decision, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner's Office under Section 50 of the FOIA. You can contact the Information Commissioner's Office at the following address:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Internet: https://www.ico.gov.uk/Global/contact_us.aspx

Yours sincerely

Geoff Hiden