Introduction
Since its establishment in 2002, the ICT Authority has been committed to openness, transparency and serving the public interest. It therefore welcomed the coming into effect on 5 January 2009 of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Law which gives the public a right of access to all types of records held by public authorities, but also sets out some exemptions from that right.
Commercially Sensitive Information
One exemption of particular relevance to the Authority and its Licensees is that covering commercially sensitive information. The Authority has handled commercially sensitive information in accordance with the Information & Communications Technology Authority (Confidentiality) Regulations ("the Confidentiality Regulations"). These Regulations state that any person submitting information to the Authority may request that such information be designated "confidential" provided it is accompanied by:
- a written justification for the claim of confidentiality, and
- either a redacted copy of the document, or a statement as to the existence and general nature of the document, for placing on the public record.
If there is no claim of confidentiality, the Authority may - and normally will - make the information publicly available by publishing it on this web site or providing copies to parties who requirest them.
The Authority itself, or any third party, may challenge the claim of confidentiality. The originator is given the opportunity to further justify its claim, and then the Authority makes a determination in accordance with the Regulations.
It is the Authority's understanding that, following the introduction of the FOI Law, information provided to the Authority under a confidentiality claim made in accordance with the Confidentially Regulations will continue to be handled in accordance with those Regulations. As before, information for which no such claim is made will be liable to disclosure and now will also be subject to the FOI Law. It should be noted that the FOI Law and the Confidentiality Regulations are very similar, and that both include a "public interest" test. Perhaps the biggest difference is that under the Confidentiality Regulations the ultimate decision on whether or not information should be disclosed is made by the Board of the Authority whilst under the FOI Law it is made by the Information Commissioner.
Publication Schemes
Each public authority covered by the Freedom of Information Law has a legal duty to adopt and maintain a publication scheme in accordance with s. 5 of the FOI Law. The main purpose of a publication scheme is to make information readily available without the need for specific written requests. Publication schemes are intended to encourage organisations to publish proactively, and develop a greater culture of openness. In practice, the ICT Authority has been publishing almost all this information on our web site since its establishment in 2002, and will continue to do so.
The Law states that Information to be published by public authorities includes (Click on the links to jump to the relevant information on our web site) :-
- the functions of the authority, what work it does and how it sets about its tasks.
- the departments and agencies of the authority.
- the subjects handled by each department or authority, with the locations of the departments and agencies and the opening hours of all offices.
- the title and business address of the Principal Officer and other key officers within the authority.
- Classes of records held.(Refer to Site menus)
- Manuals, interpretations, rules, guidelines, practices or precedents.
Please browse our site, check our document library or use the Search box at the top of each page to see if the information you would like is already available.
FOI Contact and Information Manager
David Laliberté
Head of Licensing & Compliance and General Counsel
PO Box 2502
3rd Floor, Alissta Towers
85 North Sound Road
Grand Cayman KY1-1104
Cayman IslandsTel: +1 345 945 4282
Fax: +1 345 945 8284
Email: foi@icta.ky
