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Videos of court proceeding are part of the judicial functions of a court
Decisions | 22 June 2023
Judicial Administration
An applicant requested copies of video recordings of court proceedings he was involved in from the Judicial Administration. The Judicial Administration initially denied access on the basis that the President of the Court of Appeal had refused access. The IM then reformulated the response, stating that the video recordings are part of the court proceedings and that the FOIA does not apply to the judicial functions of a court. The Court Administrator and Chief Officer confirmed this decision in the internal review, and the matter was appealed to the Ombudsman.
On the basis of the submissions received from both the Judicial Administration and the applicant, the Ombudsman decided in this preliminary hearing that the video recordings were records of court proceedings, and as such they pertained to the judicial functions of a court. Therefore, the FOIA did not apply to the recordings.
The Ombudsman also made recommendations on records management and the establishment of internal procedures for a legal hold on requested records scheduled for destruction, as it appeared that some of the recordings had been deleted after the FOI request was made.