Page:Promotion of Access to Information Act 2000.djvu/21

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
Government Gazette, 3 February 2000
No. 2085221

Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000
Act No. 2, 2000

Reports to Human Rights Commission

32. The information officer of each public body must annually submit to the Human Rights Commission a report stating in relation to the public body—

(a)

the number of requests for access received;

(b)

the number of requests for access granted in full;

(c)

the number of requests for access granted in terms of section 46;

(d)

the number of requests for access refused in full and refused partially and the number of times each provision of this Act was relied on to refuse access in full or partial;

(e)

the number of cases in which the periods stipulated in section 25(1) were extended in terms of section 26(1);

(g)

the number of internal appeals lodged with the relevant authority and the number of cases in which, as a result of an internal appeal, access was given to a record;

(h)

the number of internal appeals which were lodged on the ground that a request for access was regarded as having been refused in terms of section 27;

(i)

the number of applications to a court which were lodged on the ground that an internal appeal was regarded as having been dismissed in terms of section 77(7); and

(j)

such other matters as may be prescribed.


Chapter 4
Grounds for refusal of access to records


Interpretation

33. (1) The information officer of a public body—

(a)

must refuse a request for access to a record contemplated in section 34(1), 35(1), 36(1), 37(1)(a), 38(a), 39(1)(a), 40 or 43(1); or

(b)

may refuse a request for access to a record contemplated in section 37(1)(b), 38(b), 39(1)(b), 41(1)(a) or (b), 42(1) or (3), 43(2), 44(1) or (2) or 45,

unless the provisions of section 46 apply.

(2) A provision of this Chapter in terms of which a request for access to a record must or may or may not be refused, may not be construed as—

(a)

limited in its application in any way by any other provision of this Chapter in terms of which a request for access to a record must or may or may not be refused; and

(b)

not applying to a particular record by reason that another provision of this Chapter in terms of which a request for access to a record must or may or may not be refused, also applies to that record.


Mandatory protection of privacy of third party who is natural person

34. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the information officer of a public body must refuse a request for access to a record of the body if its disclosure would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about a third party, including a deceased individual.

(2) A record may not be refused in terms of subsection (1) insofar as it consists of information—

(a)

about an individual who has consented in terms of section 48 or otherwise in writing to its disclosure to the requester concerned;

(b)

that was given to the public body by the individual to whom it relates and the individual was informed by or on behalf of the public body, before it is given, that the information belongs to a class of information that would or might be made available to the public;

(c)

already publicly available;

(d)

about an individual's physical or mental health, or well-being, who is under the care of the requester and who is—

(i)

under the age of 18 years; or

(ii)

incapable of understanding the nature of the request,

and if giving access would be in the individual's best interests;

(e)

about an individual who is deceased and the requester is—