Information disclosure

Overview

Information disclosure requests that have been denied may be appealed. An Information Appeals Panel (IAP) was established by the Board to consider appeals from requesters.

The IAP is composed of the three heads of the independent Accountability Units: Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU), Independent Integrity Unit (IIU), and Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM). From 12 July 2023 until 31 July 2024, Karen Ernst, Head of IIU, assumed office as the Chair of the IAP.

Information appeal guidelines

16 Oct 2019

The following procedural guidelines applicable to the handling of information appeals was agreed to by the Information Appeals Panel (IAP) of the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

Submitting an information disclosure appeal

An appeal to the IAP should be filed within 60 calendar days of notification of the denial of information.

All appeals should be set out in a brief letter and contain a description of the information originally requested, as well as an explanatory statement that sets out the facts and the grounds that support the requester’s claim (i) that the GCF violated the IDP or (ii) that the public interest override applies.

Appeals must be submitted in writing through mail or e-mail and sent to the IAP:

Action from the Information Appeals Panel

The IAP may recommend to the following to uphold or reverse prior decisions to deny access to information:

• Board with respect to Board documents;
• head of the Accountability Unit with respect to documents relating to such unit; or
• Executive Director of the Secretariat with respect to all other documents.

In case there is a recommendation to disclose information, it will require the approval of the Ethics and Audit Committee (EAC) of the GCF Board, the head of the Accountability Unit, or the Executive Director, depending on the type of information relevant to the request. These decisions will be final.

The IAP shall notify the requester of the decision in writing as soon as a decision is made, and no later than 30 working days after receiving the appeal, unless additional time is required due to its scope or complexity. In case of a decision by the EAC, the IAP shall notify the requester upon the EAC’s decision.