Page:Promotion of Access to Information Act 2000.djvu/32

32 No. 20852

Act No. 2, 2000 exclude, from any such reasons, any reference to the content of the record; and

state that the requester may lodge an application with a court against the refusal of the request, and the procedure (including the period) for lodging the application.

Extension of period to deal with request

57. (1) The head of a private body to whom a request for access has been made, may extend the period of 30 days referred to in section 56(1) (in this section referred to as the “original period”) once for a further period of not more than 30 days, if—

the request is for a large number of records or requires a search through a large number of records and compliance with the original period would unreasonably interfere with the activities of the private body concerned;

the request requires a search for records in, or collection thereof from, an office of the private body not situated in the same town or city as the office of the head that cannot reasonably be completed within the original period;

consultation among divisions of the private body or with another private body is necessary or desirable to decide upon the request that cannot reasonably be completed within the original period;

more than one of the circumstances contemplated in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) exist in respect of the request making compliance with the original period not reasonably possible; or

the requester consents in writing to such extension.

(2) If a period is extended in terms of supsection (1), the head of the private body must, as soon as reasonably possible, but in any event within 30 days, after the request is received, notify the requester of that extension, the period of the extension and the reasons for the extension.

(3) The notice in terms of subsection (2) must state—

the period of the extension;

adequate reasons for the extension, including the provisions of this Act relied upon; and

that the requester may lodge an application with a court against the extension, and the procedure (including the period) for lodging the application.

Deemed refusal of request

58. If the head of a private body fails to give the decision on a request for access to the requester concerned within the period contemplated in section 56(1), the head of the private body is, for the purposes of this Act, regarded as having refused the request.

Severability

59. (1) If a request for access is made to a record of a private body containing information which may or must be refused in terms of any provision of Chapter 4 of this Part, every part of the record which—

does not contain; and

can reasonably be severed from any part that contains,

any such information must, despite any other provision of this Act, be disclosed.

(2) If a request for access to—

a part of a record is granted; and the other part of the record is refused,

as contemplated in subsection (1), the provisions of section 56(2) apply to paragraph (a) of this section and the provisions of section 56(3) to paragraph (b) of this section.

Form of access

60. If access is granted to a record of a private body, the head of that body must, as soon as reasonably possible after notification in terms of section 56, but subject to section 57, give access in—

such form as the requester reasonably requires; or

{{SLi|(b)} if no specific form of access is required by the requester, such form as the head reasonably determines.