The Case

The case concerned rival applications for a licence to undertake a commercial venture. The court ruled that in such an instance there would be a distinction between a right to know the details of the rival's case and a right to know the decision-maker's concerns about one's own case. If every applicant saw every other's bid, and was entitled to comment and challenge, the resulting prolongation and complexity of the decision-making process could scarcely be exaggerated. In a competition case such as the instant, fairness imposed two broad requirements: (i) that an applicant be told the substance of the decision-maker's concerns about his own case, and (ii) that each applicant be treated like every other. The first of those requirements meant that the applicant was entitled to be told of the concerns about his own case, but not the details of any rival. The authority had therefore not been obliged to disclose the rival application.