Maharaj v National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago

The appeal concerned the response by the Respondent, the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (“NGC”), to a request for documents made by the Appellant under the Freedom of Information Act 1999 (“FOIA”). The documents requested relate to a proposed agreement between the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and NGC, on the one hand, and the Republic of Venezuela and a state-owned Venezuelan energy company on the other.

NGC refused to disclose the documents, on the basis that they fell within various exemptions under FOIA and that the public interest balancing exercise required by section 35 of FOIA favoured non-disclosure.

The Privy Council held that a challenge to a public body’s assessment of the section 35 balancing exercise should be determined on ordinary judicial review principles; that there had been no error in the majority of the Court of Appeal’s conclusion that NGC was entitled to withhold the documents; and that the reasons given by NGC were adequate.

Sir James Eadie KC and George Molyneaux acted for NGC.

The judgment is available here.