Access to Quasi-Judicial Decisions: Jama v. Minister for Social Protection

Abstract

This note considers the Jama case which involves the important issue of access to the decisions of social welfare appeals officers. The High Court ruled that there was no duty on the Department of Social Protection to maintain a database or open library of decisions to which the public may have access and, therefore, no question of a right of access thereto arose. However, while the decision may have been correct on the facts of the case, the Court’s approach to the broader issue of access to social welfare appeals decisions is rather debateable and it is arguable that, consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision in Atanasov, social welfare appellants should also be entitled to access to relevant decisions as a matter of constitutional justice.

Keywords: Social security, appeals, acess to decisions, constitutional justice, fair procedures

JEL Classification: K41