Data Protection concerns leading to Notice to Media

The request was refused by Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.

Dear Scottish Court Service,

On 30 July the Lord Justice General issued a Notice regarding Advance Access of the Media to Court Documents. The notice is online here: http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/docs/defaul...

In that Notice the Lord Justice General says that

"For some time the Court has been reviewing the practice of allowing journalists an opportunity to see complaints and indictments for note-taking purposes before cases call in court. The review was necessary because of significant concerns arising from the Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA”) in relation to the disclosure of personal data and sensitive personal data in these documents".

Please could you disclose to me, under FOI(S)A, any information relating a) to this review, and b) to the significant concerns arising from the DPA?

Many thanks.

Yours faithfully,

Jonathan Baines

Foi, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your e-mail. Your e-mail is receiving attention and we aim to provide you with a response within the statutory timescale for reply. This is 20 working days for requests submitted under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and 40 calendar days for subject access requests submitted under the Data Protection Act 1998.

FOI Enquiries
Scottish Court Service

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www.scotcourts.gov.uk

Whiteford, Susan, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Baines.

Please find enclosed a response to your FOI request - FOI2014156 -
submitted 14 August 2014.  

 

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This e-mail, and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are
addressed. If you have received this e-mail in error please notify
[email address]. Please note that any views or opinions
presented in this e-mail are solely those of the author and do not
necessarily represent those of the Scottish Court Service (SCS). Finally,
the recipients should check this e-mail and any attachments for the
presence of viruses. The SCS accepts no liability for any damage caused by
any virus transmitted by this e-mail.

www.scotcourts.gov.uk

Dear Scottish Court Service,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Scottish Court Service's handling of my FOI request 'Data Protection concerns leading to Notice to Media'.

I note that you claim three exemptions to disclosure of the information. Each of those is a qualified exemption under FOI(S)A but the public interest test you have undertaken in each case is, to put it at its most charitable, cursory. You describe the policy paper as being concerned with the Scottish Court Service's interactions with the media. I can hardly think of any subject which is more in the public interest than the openness of justice and media access to court information. Given this, surely your analysis of whether the information is to be disclosed should consider these factors?

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/d...

Yours faithfully,

Jonathan Baines

Foi, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your e-mail. Your e-mail is receiving attention and we aim to provide you with a response within the statutory timescale for reply. This is 20 working days for requests submitted under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and 40 calendar days for subject access requests submitted under the Data Protection Act 1998.

FOI Enquiries
Scottish Court Service

E-MAIL DISCLAIMER

This e-mail, and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this e-mail in error please notify [email address]. Please note that any views or opinions presented in this e-mail are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Scottish Court Service (SCS). Finally, the recipients should check this e-mail and any attachments for the presence of viruses. The SCS accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this e-mail.

www.scotcourts.gov.uk

Hockenhull, Iain, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Baines

Thank you for your request for a review. Please find attached a letter of response.

Yours sincerely


Iain Hockenhull
Head of Correspondence
0131 444 3361

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