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Journalist does not have to pay £14k costs in freedom of information row
BARNIE CHOUDHURY will not have to pay £14,000 to the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) following a dispute over Freedom of Information (FoI) requests. The First-Tier Tribunal has rejected the application by the JAC.
Barnie Choudhury
Barnie quotes the judgment: “We bear in mind that the costs regime is not intended to be a punitive measure for the tribunal to impose, and having carefully considered all of the relevant circumstances present in this case, we do not consider that it is appropriate or proportionate to make an order for costs...”
Barnie had sought permission to seek proceedings for contempt of court against the JAC after it failed, he said, to comply with an information tribunal order to release files. This move was, as the Freelance understands it, unusual. A benefit of the UK's Freedom of Information process is that applicants are not exposed to the other side's legal costs. If you pursue a legal claim outside the FoI process, you may be exposed.
After the contempt of court threat, the JAC released enough documents for Barnie to continue his reporting, and he withdrew the contempt threat in September 2025.
The JAC then claimed that to bring contempt of court proceedings was unreasonable and demanded that Barnie Choudhury pay £14,270.70 for its costs in opposing him.
The tribunal found that when Barnie initiated proceedings against the JAC for contempt of court he genuinely believed that it had not fully complied with a court order issued by a judge.
The Press Gazette reports, however, that the tribunal found Choudhury to have acted unreasonably “in the conduct of the proceedings”. His application for the JAC to pay his legal costs therefore has to be withdrawn. He had asked for £15,510 and reportedly this will be absorbed by his pro bono legal team.
National Union of Journalists general secretary Laura Davison said that “this attempt to recover substantial costs from a freedom of information applicant risked introducing a significant new jeopardy for journalists – particularly those without a major news platform to meet their costs.
“The court’s wise decision to turn down this application will hopefully dissuade any other public bodies from pursuing such a course.”
Tribunal throws out £14k costs claim against journalist Barnie Choudhury pressgazette.co.uk
JAC loses fight to muzzle reporter over press freedoms Barnie at easterneye.biz