Who is bound by this provision, and which acts in handling a disclosure request does it reach?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In practice material, we read the disclosure request and the institution's reply to see who signed the decision and in what capacity, any internal record showing which officer handled the matter, and correspondence or processing dates that bear on the speed of the handling.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the scope as written: the provision binds the public institution's information disclosure officer, expressly including the official in charge of the business related to the information requested, requiring faithful performance of disclosure duties and barring an arbitrary decision on disclosure, intentional delay in processing, unlawful refusal or evasion of disclosure, and other improper conduct.
Another reading notes that the provision lists the conduct that must not occur but sets no standard for what makes a decision arbitrary, a delay intentional, or a refusal unlawful, so the provision itself leaves open how a file shows that any of these was done.
Your judgment
When a disclosure request was refused or answered late, what in the record would show that the officer's decision was arbitrary or the delay intentional?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to define the improper acts or add a remedy or sanction, or if a court decision explains what makes a disclosure decision arbitrary or a delay intentional.