“As mentioned earlier, section 41 is an absolute exemption. It is common ground
that where section 41 arises there will nevertheless be a public interest balance.
That balance does not arise under section 2. Instead, it arises because breach of
confidence (which for these purposes includes a breach of privacy) will not be
actionable if the defendant shows that the breach was justified in the public
interest. There is a distinction here from qualified exemptions, for the burden lies
on Mr Evans to show that the necessary breach is in the public interest.”
39. The parties have provided a number of additional submissions and referred to
various cases on section 41(1) FOIA. From these we noted and accepted these
statements of principle that:
If the confidential information under consideration is about individuals then if
the person with the potential cause of action is unidentifiable or can be
rendered unidentifiable by suitable redaction then there may be no actionable
breach of confidence.
If part of a document is covered by the duty of confidentiality a public authority
should seek to apply the smallest amount of redactions it can to ensure the
confidentiality is maintained with the material left unredacted to be disclosed
unless another exemption applies.
In Mckennitt V Ash [2006] EWCA Civ 1714 Buxton LJ Held (at 11)
‘in order to find the rules of the English law of breach of confidence we now have to
look in the jurisprudence of articles 8 and 10. Those articles are now not merely of
persuasive or parallel effect but…are the very content of the domestic tort that the
English court has to enforce…’ (Para 11)
Article 8 ECHR provides that
1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his
correspondence
2 there shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right
except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic
society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being
of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health
or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others
Article 10 ECHR states that:“Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom
to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without
interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.”
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