Price and Director of Public Prosecutions
(1995 S0151, 24 October 1997)
This case involved consideration of the application of s.43(1) of the FOI Act (the legal professional privilege exemption), as well as the principles outlined in Shepherd and Department of Housing, Local Government & Planning (1994) 1 QAR 464 in respect of 'sufficiency of search' issue. In respect of the application of s.43(1), the Information Commissioner addressed the applicant's contention that the documents in issue were the subject of an exception to legal professional privilege, because they had been brought into existence for the furtherance of an illegal purpose. The Information Commissioner was not satisfied of the existence of a prima facie case that any of the documents in issue had been brought into existence for an illegal or improper purpose. The Information Commissioner found that they were subject to legal professional privilege, and exempt under s.43(1) of the FOI Act.
In respect of the 'sufficiency of search' issue, the Information Commissioner took into account the searches conducted by the respondent, and found that no further documents, falling within the terms of the applicant's FOI access application, existed in the possession or control of the respondent.
The Information Commissioner further considered some procedural matters relating to the conduct of reviews under Part 5 of the FOI Act. The Information Commissioner discussed the Commissioner's authority to convey preliminary views to participants on the issues for determination in a review, and the basis on which this was done. The Information Commissioner explained that the terms of the FOI Act imposed no obligation on an agency to produce, for the benefit of an access applicant, a schedule of documents to which access had been granted. However, the Information Commissioner indicated that, in the circumstances of a particular case, it may be considered appropriate to direct an agency to prepare such a schedule, where that would be of assistance in the conduct of a review under Part 5 of the FOI Act.
