Page:Promotion of Access to Information Act 2000.djvu/40

40No. 20852

Act No. 2, 2000 exhausted the internal appeal procedure against a decision of the information officer of a public body provided for in section 74.

(2) A requester—

that has been unsuccessful in an internal appeal to the relevant authority of a public body;

aggrieved by a decision of the relevant authority of a public body to disallow the late lodging of an internal appeal in terms of section 75(2);

aggrieved by a decision of the information officer of a public body referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of “public body” in section 1—

to refuse a request for access; or

taken in terms of section 22, 26(1) or 29(3); or

aggrieved by a decision of the head of a private body—

to refuse a request for access; or

taken in terms of section 54, 57(1) or 60,

may, by way of an application, within 30 days apply to a court for appropriate relief in terms of section 82.

(3) A third party—

that has been unsuccessful in an internal appeal to the relevant authority of a public body;

aggrieved by a decision of the information officer of a public body referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of “public body” in section 1 to grant a request for access; or

aggrieved by a decision of the head of a private body in relation to a request for access to a record of that body,

may, by way of an application, within 30 days apply to a court for appropriate relief in terms of section 82.

Procedure

79. (1) The Rules Board for Courts of Law, established by section 2 of the Rules Board for Courts of Law Act, 1985 (Act No. 107 of 1985), must within 12 months after the commencement of this section, make and implement rules of procedure for—

a court in respect of applications in terms of section 78; and

a court to receive representations ex parte referred to in section 80(3)(a).

(2) Before the implementation of the rules of procedure in terms of subsection (1)(a), an application in terms of section 78 may only be lodged with a High Court or another court of similar status.

(3) Any rule made in terms of subsection (1) must, before publication in the Gazette, be approved by Parliament.

Disclosure of records to, and non-disclosure by, court

80. (1) Despite this Act and any other law, any court hearing an application, or an appeal against a decision on that application, may examine any record of a public or private body to which this Act applies, and no such record may be withheld from the court on any grounds.

(2) Any court contemplated in subsection (1) may not disclose to any person, including the parties to the proceedings concerned, other than the public or private body referred to in subsection (1)—

any record of a public or private body which, on a request for access, may or must be refused in terms of this Act; or

if the information officer of a public body, or the relevant authority of that body on internal appeal, in refusing to grant access to a record in terms of section 39(3) or 41(4), refuses to confirm or deny the existence or non-existence of the record, any information as to whether the record exists.

(3) Any court contemplated in subsection (1) may—

receive representations ex parte;

conduct hearings in camera; and

prohibit the publication of such information in relation to the proceedings as the court determines, including information in relation to the parties to the proceedings and the contents of orders made by the court in the proceedings.