Dear A Wilson,

SUBJECT: Freedom of Information Request

Thank you for your email of 28^th August, in which you asked for the following information from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

Oaths of Office for the following Public Servants, along with their Bond Number (Medway County Court)

Your request has been passed to me because I have responsibility for answering requests which relate to Her Majesty's Courts Service and has been 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.

The link below takes you to the Judiciary of England and Wales website where you can locate further information on Oaths taken by Judges. Please note that all Judges take the same Oath of Office when they are sworn in, this is explained in detail on the website. You requested an Oath of Office for Lorraine Ross, however, as a HMCS employee and a clerk she would not have been required to take an Oath.

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

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.

In regard to the second part of your request, I am afraid that after much investigation I have not been able to find any information in relation to Judicial Bond numbers. I would be grateful if you could elaborate further on the precise information you are seeking.

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

6^th Floor, Zone C

102 Petty France

London

SW1H 9AJ

E-mail: [HMCS request email]

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,

Emma McGahren

Personal Assistant to Regional Leads

HMCS South East

Page 2