Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Scottish Parliament
Long title:	An Act of the Scottish Parliament to make provision for the disclosure of information held by Scottish public authorities or by persons providing services for them; and for connected purposes. The Scottish Parliament ( Scottish Gaelic: Pàrlamaid na h-Alba; Scots: Scottish Pairlament) is the devlolved national unicameral The long title (properly the title) is one of the parts together with the Short title, and the operative provisions (sections and Schedules which comprise an
Statute book chapter:	2002 asp 13
Introduced by:	Jim Wallace
Territorial extent:	Scotland
Dates
Date of Royal Assent:	28 May 2002
Commencement:	30 September 2002[1] 31 October 2003,[2] 30 April 2004 and 1 January 2005[3]
Other legislation
Amendments:
Related legislation:	Freedom of Information Act 2000
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Official text of the statute as amended and in force today within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
History of passage through parliament
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The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (2002 asp 13) was an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in 2002. For other uses see James Wallace. James Robert Wallace Baron Wallace of Tankerness PC QC (born 25 August The granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which a constitutional monarch completes the legislative process of Lawmaking by formally assenting to an Events 585 BC - A Solar eclipse occurs as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1399 - Henry IV is proclaimed King of England. 1744 - France and Spain defeat the See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 445 BC – Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 91 NLTse Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. See Freedom of information in the United Kingdom for a general discussion of Freedom of information legislation throughout the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The UK Statute Law Database is the official web -accessible Database of the Statute law of the United Kingdom, hosted by the Ministry of "Acts of the Scottish Parliament" redirects here For pre-Union acts see List of Acts of the Scottish Parliament to 1707. The Scottish Parliament ( Scottish Gaelic: Pàrlamaid na h-Alba; Scots: Scottish Pairlament) is the devlolved national unicameral See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. It covers public bodies over which the Scottish Parliament, rather than United Kingdom Parliament, has jurisdiction, fulfilling a similar purpose to the UK-level Freedom of Information Act 2000. Scottish public bodies are a group of organisations that are funded by the Scottish Government. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories In Law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak" is the practical Authority See Freedom of information in the United Kingdom for a general discussion of Freedom of information legislation throughout the United Kingdom. It, too, came into force at the beginning of 2005.

It should be noted that not all public bodies situated in Scotland fall under this remit - Scottish-based departments of the Ministry of Defence, for example, are not subject to the Scottish Parliament, and thus would be covered by the 2000 Act not the 2002 Act. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The Ministry of Defence ( MoD) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters Similarly the Scottish parts of UK-wide bodies such as the Forestry Commission (which is headquartered in Scotland) are subject to the 2000 Act rather than the 2002 Act, even though they fall within the remit of the Scottish Parliament. The Forestry Commission (established in 1919 is a Non-ministerial government department responsible for Forestry in Great Britain. The Act also created a Scottish Information Commissioner, whose duties were similar to those of the Office of the Information Commissioner, but limited to the bodies covered by the 2002 Act. Kevin Dunion the Scottish Information Commissioner is responsible for the promotion and enforcement of the Freedom of Information (Scotland Act 2002 (FOISA and the Environmental The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO in the United Kingdom, is a Non-departmental public body which reports directly to Parliament and is sponsored

Whilst the two Acts are similar in principle, there are some significant differences in implementation; as a rule, the Scottish Act is more strongly worded. For example, the Scottish test for public interest is stated in terms of "substantial prejudice" rather than "prejudice", which is clearly a higher standard, and imposes a stricter time limit in cases where public interest has to be considered. It contains explicit mention of disability access rights and the duties incumbent on a body which does not have the information requested, both of which are lacking in the 2000 Act, and provides for an objective test (rather than "the reasonable opinion of a qualified person") to determine if the public interest means information should be withheld. The disability rights movement aims to improve the Quality of life of people with disabilities.

The 2002 Act established a Scottish Information Commissioner, but no tribunal; any appeals against the Commissioner would go to the Court of Session. Tribunal is a generic term for any body acting judicially whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland. It is both a Court of first instance and a court of Appeal and sits exclusively

See also

• Freedom of information in the United Kingdom

References

External links

• Stationery Office text of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) 2002 Act
• Scottish Executive's FOI pages, including recent disclosures
• Scottish Information Commissioner website - with quick step guides and information for individuals and public bodies relating to the Freedom of Information Act

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