Appeal

If either a complainant or a public authority is unhappy with a decision of the Information Commissioner or the Scottish Information Commissioner, they can appeal the decision through the courts. The precise appeal route depends on the commissioner in question.

Non-Scottish appeals

Appeals against decisions of the Information Commissioner go to the First-Tier Tribunal or the Upper Tribunal by virtue of section 57 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, as amended by SI 2010/22. Such cases are assigned to the General Regulatory Chamber of the First-Tier Tribunal by SI 2010/2655. Cases can be transferred to the Upper Tribunal under rule 19 of SI 2009/1976 (as amended by SI 2010/43).

Appeals against decisions of the First Tier Tribunal go to the Upper Tribunal by virtue of section 11 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. Such appeals are assigned to the Administrative Appeals Chamber by SI 2010/2655.

Appeals against decisions of the Upper Tribunal go to the Court of Appeal in England and Wales, the Court of Session, or the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland, as appropriate, by virtue of section 13 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.

Appeals from each of those courts go to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom by virtue of section 40 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and section 42 of the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978.

How to appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal (Information Rights)

If you disagree with a decision made by the Information Commissioner, you can appeal that decision to the First-Tier Tribunal (Information Rights) - known to its friends as the "Information Tribunal".

Here's what you need to know:

• The opinion of the Information Commissioner must be expressed in a formal document called a Decision Notice before you can appeal it to the Tribunal.

• Sometimes during the course of an investigation, the ICO will let you know that they intend to decide against you, and ask if you'd like to withdraw your complaint. If you think you might want to appeal their decision, you need to answer 'no' to this, and request a Decision Notice.

• Useful resources on the Tribunal website include the Guidance for Unrepresented Parties (in other words, instructions and information for people applying to the Tribunal who don't have a lawyer representing them).

• Most of the people who appeal decisions to the Tribunal are not represented by a lawyer - the Tribunal staff are used to this, and are very helpful to appellents (if you're making the appeal, then you're the 'appellant').

• Although the public authority that you're appealing against is likely to be represented by a lawyer, this doesn't mean they're more likely to win - the Tribunal takes into account that you're not a lawyer, and can't be expected to know the law as well as one. Unrepresented appellants frequently win cases before the Tribunal.

Scottish appeals

Appeals against decisions of the Scottish Information Commissioner go straight to the Court of Session under section 56 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, and thereafter to the Supreme Court.