Miss Zoe Al wood
FOI Manager
A Davies
By email
Reference: FOI-2022-704
14 October 2022
Dear A Davies,
Your request was received on 18 September 2022 and I am dealing with it under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’).
You asked:
Could you please provide the examiner's reports for all LLM papers for the year 2021/2022
This information is refused under section 43(1) of the Act as it constitutes a trade secret (within the
meaning of this term in the Act) and under section 43(2) of the Act on the grounds that its disclosure
would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the University and/or individual academics by
infringing the IP rights that they own in the information. These materials are protected under the
copyright and intel ectual property rights of the University and the individual academics involved in
creating them. They are made available in specific ways to registered students on the course, with
whom they are used under specific pedagogical conditions. As this is a qualified exemption, the
University has considered whether, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in
maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. The University is
aware of the general arguments concerning transparency in its teaching and examination activities.
However, the high degree of intellectual content in the examiner reports, the extensive effort made by
the individual academics to create them, and the need to maintain teaching standards and quality
assurance in its courses through the dissemination of copyrighted materials at a time (and to the
audience) of the University’s choosing, are collectively considered to be decisive factors in favour of the
maintenance of the exemption in this case.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a
complaint or request an internal review of this decision, you should contact us quoting the reference
number above. The University would normally expect to receive your request for an internal review
within 40 working days of the date of this letter and reserves the right not to review a decision where
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Tel: +44 (0) 1223 764142
Email: xxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx.xx
www.cam.ac.uk
there has been undue delay in raising a complaint. If you are not content with the outcome of your
review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the
Information Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints
procedure provided by the University. The Information Commissioner may be contacted at: The
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
(https://ico.org.uk/).
Yours sincerely,
Zoe Al wood
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