Temporary Advocate Licences

Summary

A request was made for data on litigants in person successfully using foreign legal support without an Isle of Man advocate between 2016 and 2025. The General Registry responded that the information is not held and no further breakdown is available beyond the Annual Report.

Key Facts

• The authority is the General Registry of the Isle of Man Courts of Justice.
• The request covered a 10-year period from 2016 to 2025.
• The outcome was 'Information not held' as the authority could not find the specific data after reasonable steps.
• The requester noted only 19 judgments were listed on the judgments.im website for this topic.
• The response provided a link to the most recent Annual Report but stated no further breakdown exists.

Data Disclosed

• 2016
• 2025
• 19 judgments
• 30 June 2025
• 14 July 2025
• 4765909

Exemptions Cited

• Information not held

Original Request

Please supply information adequate to identify how many if any litigants in person have been able to successfully progress foreign legal support in an Isle of Man case without an Isle of Man advocate from 2016 to 2025 [10 year trend] given that annual reports statistics and the judgments.im website [only 19 judgments listed in search results] indicate a disproportionately low percentage of total applications are received relative to total cases. For example, please itemise any such successful application judgments by a link to the judgments.im website.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

General Registry Oik- Recortyssee Chief Registrar
Stuart Quayle

Isle of Man Courts of Justice Deemsters Walk, Bucks Road Douglas, Isle of Man IM1 3AR

Telephone:
(01624) 685979 Email: DPO- GenReg@gov.im

Our ref: 4765909 14 July 2025

Dear #####

We write further to your request received 30 June 2025, which states:

"Please supply information adequate to identify how many if any litigants in person have been able to successfully progress foreign legal support in an Isle of Man case without an Isle of Man advocate from 2016 to 2025 [10 year trend] given that annual reports statistics and the judgments.im website [only 19 judgments listed in search results] indicate a disproportionately low percentage of total applications are received relative to total cases.

For example, please itemise any such successful application judgments by a link to the judgments.im website."

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find the information that you have requested.

The most recent Annual Report is located here https://www.courts.im/court- information/isle-of-man-courts-tribunals-general-registry-annual-report/ No further breakdown is held.

Please quote the reference number 4765909 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely

FOI Co-ordinator