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Section 16 Manual
4.26 Applications where the matter is, has been or will be the subject of another review
Section 34(9)(a)(iii) provides that the Commissioner may, at her discretion, refuse to grant an application for a review where the matter to which the application relates is, has been or will be the subject of another review under that section.
4.27 In cases where applications relate to matters which have already been the subject of a completed review, the applicant (and the public body, if necessary) should be informed in writing of the outcome of the earlier review and given a copy of the earlier decision. The applicant should be informed that, unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that the new application is distinguishable from the earlier one, she is likely to exercise her discretion to refuse to accept the application for review. The applicant should be asked to forward any such evidence within three weeks, failing which a recommendation will be made to the Commissioner not to accept the application. Normally a refusal to accept an application for review should only arise where all of the records sought have already been the subject of a separate review.
4.28 It is also open to the Commissioner to refuse to grant an application if the application relates to matters which are the subject of a current review. In practice the Commissioner is unlikely to reject such an application unless there are compelling grounds for doing so. In considering whether to use the discretion to reject the application, care needs to be exercised in cases where the identity of the requester could impact on the outcome of the review. An example of the kind of case involved here is a request which, if granted, would involve the disclosure of personal information. The outcome of such a review and the issues involved could depend on the identity of the applicant. In such cases it will be appropriate for the Commissioner to accept more than one application for review.
