Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal over responsibilities of Information Commissioner when determining complaints from data subjects

The Supreme Court has refused permission to appeal in a dispute over the UK Information Commissioner's responsibilities when a data subject lodges a complaint that a data controller has infringed data protection law.

A three-justice panel comprising Lord Hodge, Lord Leggatt and Lord Richards declined to grant permission last month (4 March), concluding that there was “no arguable point of law”.

The Court of Appeal case of Delo, R (On the Application Of) v Information Commissioner [2023] EWCA Civ 1141 involved two main questions, as identified by Lord Justice Warby:

(1) is the Commissioner obliged to reach a definitive decision on the merits of each and every such complaint or does he have a discretion to decide that some other outcome is appropriate?

(2) if the Commissioner has a discretion, did he nonetheless act unlawfully in this case by declining to investigate or declining to determine the merits of the complaint made by the claimant?

The Court of Appeal answered ‘no’ to both questions.

Responding to the ruling, the Information Commissioner welcomed confirmation that it has broad discretion in deciding the extent to which it investigates each complaint and is entitled to reach and express a view on the complaint, without necessarily determining whether there has been an infringement.

It also welcomed the court’s decision that the ICO acted lawfully in deciding the outcome of the claimant’s complaint.

See also: Delo: Clarity on ICO complaints - The Court of Appeal has handed down a ruling providing some helpful clarity on the Information Commissioner’s responsibilities vis-á-vis the handling of complaints lodged by data subjects, writes Lucy Jones.