Registration of the Progress Party (FOI)

Request

With reference to the registration of the Progress Party at the end of January 2021.

Please supply a copy of their Application Form or if not available, a list of the 20 people who would have been required to sign their Application Form under Article 4 (4) of Political Parties (Registration) (Jersey) Law 2008?

Response

We decline to supply any information in response to this request because this information is absolutely exempt under Article 29(a) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 (jerseylaw.je) because its disclosure in response to a FOI request is prohibited by or under an enactment. In particular, information from the Register of Political Parties and documents held by the Judicial Greffier as part of the registration process must only be disclosed as prescribed by Article 11 of the Political Parties (Registration) (Jersey) Law 2008 (jerseylaw.je), which states:

11 Inspection of register of political parties

(1) A person may inspect the register at the Judicial Greffe during its normal working hours.

(2) A person may, on payment of the fee, obtain from the Greffier a copy of any document kept by the Greffier under Article 6(3).

The information contained in the Register and thus available under Article 11(1) is specified in Article 6(2). Article 6, including Article 6(3) specifying the documents kept by the Greffier to be available for disclosure under Article 11(2), states:

6 Registration of political party

(1) The Greffier shall maintain a register of political parties.

(2) Where the Court, on an application under Article 4, orders the registration of a political party the Greffier shall enter the following particulars in the register –

(a) the name of the party and the abbreviation (if any) of that name;

(b) the emblem (if any) of the party;

(c) the address, in Jersey, for the party;

(d) the full names of the leader, treasurer and secretary of the party.

(3) The Greffier shall keep, for each registered political party, a copy of its constitution submitted under Article 4 or 8, and a copy of its statements of accounts submitted under Article 4 or 9.

The information requested is “a copy of the Application Form or if not available, a list of the 20 people who would have been required to sign their application form”. Under Article 11 neither the Application Form nor the list of the signatories is included in the information which may be inspected or the document copies which may be requested and therefore their disclosure is prohibited under this enactment namely the Political Parties (Registration) (Jersey) Law 2008 (jerseylaw.je).

Articles applied

29 Other prohibitions or restrictions

Information is absolutely exempt information if the disclosure of the information by the scheduled public authority holding it –

(a) is prohibited by or under an enactment;

(b) is incompatible with a European Union or an international obligation that applies to Jersey; or

(c) would constitute or be punishable as a contempt of court.