Charity Commission successfully defends appeal to Supreme Court

The Charity Commission says it welcomes a Supreme Court Judgment, which dismisses on all grounds the appeal brought by a newspaper journalist, Dominic Kennedy.

Kennedy had requested information about concluded statutory inquiries under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The Commission withheld the information, relying on an exemption in FOIA that applies to any information held by the regulator in connection with a statutory inquiry.

In his appeal, Kennedy argued that the exemption should not apply to information held in connection with inquiries once they had concluded.

He also argued that the exemption, in prohibiting the Commission from releasing any information created or obtained as a result of a statutory inquiry, amounted to a violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

That article provides the right to freedom of expression, including the right to receive and impart information and ideas.

However, in a judgment published today, the court rejects Kennedy’s arguments and upholds the Commission’s view that the exemption is absolute and continues after an inquiry ends.

The court also agreed with the Commission that the exemption does not prohibit it from disclosing information and does not, therefore, interfere with any right Mr Kennedy has to receive information.

The court expressed the view that in any event he has no right to receive the information founded in the ECHR.

The judgment upholds earlier judgments by the Court of Appeal, High Court, the Information Tribunal and the Information Commissioner.

Kenneth Dibble, chief legal adviser and head of Legal Services at the Charity Commission, said: “I am pleased that the Supreme Court has dismissed Mr Kennedy’s appeal.

"We endorse and support the principles of freedom of information but we have to balance the need for transparency with the need to conduct effective inquiries in the public interest that uncover mismanagement and wrongdoing in charities. That is why the exemption upheld by today’s judgment is so important.

"Ultimately, this will help us uphold public trust and confidence in charities.”

The Commission says it will now carefully consider the opinions of the Supreme Court Justices and assess future requests for disclosure of information in light of their ruling.

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