What is the Freedom of Information Act?
The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 2000 came into force on 1 January 2005. Under this Act, anybody may request information from a public authority which has functions in England, Wales and/or Northern Ireland. The Act confers two statutory rights on applicants:
- To be told whether or not the public authority holds that information; and if so,
- To have that information communicated to them.
The Northern Ireland Court Service is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000. For more information on what this means, visit the FOI Website.
How to Request Information from the Court Service?
We already make a lot of information available to you. Before you consider making a request, please try:
1. Searching our Website for Information
If you wish to search for a particular publication please type keywords into the Search box on the top right-hand side of the screen. This will search the entire website. Please click here for help on searching. For a more advanced search of our publications use the Publications Search.
2. Check our Publication Scheme
The Northern Ireland Court Service's Freedom of Information Act 2000 Publication Scheme defines the classes of information that are published by the Court Service as required under Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Our Publication Scheme includes information that is published on web sites and print publications, including publications that are for sale.
To view the departmental guidance notes for staff handling written requests for information, click here.
Do you want to Request Information Under the Act?
If you still can't find what you are looking for, or you require information available on our website in a different form (a hard copy, for example) you may ask for it under the Freedom of Information Act by emailing us, or by writing to us at:
Information Centre
Northern Ireland Court Service
Windsor House
9 - 15 Bedford Street
Belfast
BT2 7LT
Tel: 028 9032 8594
Text Phone: 028 9041 2920
Fax: 028 9023 6361