Section 33
Disclosure of information obtained
of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Enactment 2024
This section applies to —
(a)
any information or document given by any person to the
Commission under this Enactment; and
(b)
such information or document given whereby the person giving it notifies the Commission in writing that it is of a confidential or commercially sensitive nature.
(2)
The Commission shall not disclose to any person the information or the contents of a document to which this section applies unless —
(a)
the Commission is of the opinion that —
(i)
the disclosure of the information or the contents of the document would not cause detriment to the person supplying it or to any other person who is aware of the information or document; or
(ii)
although the disclosure of the information or the contents of the document would cause detriment to the person supplying it or to any other person who is aware of the information or the contents of the document, the public benefit in disclosing outweighs that detriment;
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(b)
the Commission gives written notice to —
(i)
the person who supplied the information or document;
and
(ii)
any other person whom the Commission is aware has supplied the information or document to the person referred to in subparagraph (i), where the identity of such other person is known to the Commission, stating that the Commission wishes to disclose the information or contents of the document, specifying the nature of the intended disclosure and detailed reasons why the
Commission wishes to make the disclosure and setting out a copy of this section; and
(c)
no appeal is made to the Minister under subsection (3) within twenty-one days of the date of the notice.
(3)
A person aggrieved by the notice under paragraph (2)(b) may appeal to the Minister within twenty-one days of the date of the notice.
(4)
Subsection (2) shall not prevent the Commission from disclosing any information or the contents of any document —
(a)
to any member, officer or employee of the Commission or any agent, consultant, committee or panel acting for or under the direction of the Commission;
(b)
to the Minister or any agent, consultant, committee or panel acting for or under the direction of the Minister;
(c)
when required to do so by any court or under this Enactment or any other written law; or
(d)
for the purposes of any criminal proceedings.
(5)
For the purposes of this section, the disclosure of any information or the contents of a document already in the public domain at the time the
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Commission wishes to disclose it cannot cause detriment to any person referred to in paragraph (2)(a).