Andrey Khadyka v The Information Commissioner

Facts

The appellant, Mr Khadyka, made a complaint to a public authority on 17 February 2026, which he treated as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Information Commissioner wrote to him on 5 June 2026 stating that the complaint was not a valid request for information under that Act, so that the Commissioner was unable to accept it under section 50 of FOIA. On 12 June 2026 the appellant filed a notice of appeal on form GRC1, giving no reasons. The Tribunal invited him to file form GRC3, since the appeal appeared to concern a complaint rather than a decision. He maintained that the letter was a decision. Following further directions, he filed form GRC3 on 29 June 2026, attaching a further letter from the Commissioner dated 17 June 2026, which confirmed the earlier assessment and said he should pursue the matter through the authority's complaints procedure. He asserted that his request met the requirements of section 8 of FOIA. The Commissioner wrote on 3 July 2026 noting that the appeal appeared to relate to FOIA rather than the Data Protection Act 2018. On 17 July 2026 Judge Oliver issued directions indicating that the Tribunal was considering striking out the appeal under Rule 8(2)(a) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009 for want of jurisdiction. The appellant responded on 20 July 2026.