Supreme court ruling denies journalists access to confidential personal data

The Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) has ruled to restrict press access to court records of routine proceedings. "Journalists may not review the records in individual administrative cases, as these include private personal data. They may only demand access to documents containing the final decision in such cases," the NSA announced yesterday. The NSA was ruling in the case of a starost local leader who refused journalists access to court records because they contained personal data. The issue arose when the Tygodnik Pultuski weekly sought to check whether certain construction designs had been drawn up privately by the same administrative officials who had given permission for the construction to go ahead. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A1) M.T.