Body-Worn Police Camera Footage as Public Information – commentary on the Judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Łódź of 22 November 2023, II SAB/Łd 98/23

Abstract

The partially critical gloss addresses the issue of access to public information. In the ruling under review, the Voivodeship Administrative Court (WSA) stated that a recording of an intervention made by a police officer using a body-worn camera constitutes public information. When denying a citizen access to this information, the authority should issue a formal decision. While generally agreeing with this ruling, the author highlights circumstances that justified the refusal of access in this particular case. Supporting the proposal to amend the Public Information Access Act to prevent the abuse of the right to public information (already at the stage of request consideration), the author suggests a broad revision of the act. As part of these legislative efforts, provisions should be introduced to explicitly restrict access to certain categories of public information. As an example, the author presents solutions from U.S. law that limit access to public information.