3.4.1 Legal Recourse against Public Bodies When a requester is unhappy with a decision made by the Information Officer of a public body, the requester has the right to file an internal appeal. An internal appeal involves a more senior person reviewing the decision of the Information Officer and deciding whether he/she made the correct decision. If the senior person approves of the Information Officer’s decision, then the internal appeal is denied and the original decision regarding the PAIA request is confirmed. If the senior person does not approve of the Information Officer’s decision, then the appeal is granted and the original decision regarding the PAIA request is overturned. It is important to note that you can only submit an internal appeal to national, provincial and municipal government departments. No internal appeal procedure is available for other public bodies. The City of Cape Town is an example of a municipal government against which an internal appeal can be submitted. The Road Accident Fund is an example of a public body which is not part of national, provincial or local government, as it is set up by legislation (the Road Accident Fund Act), and therefore an internal appeal cannot be lodged against them. 3.4.1.1. Who may lodge an internal appeal? A requester who makes a PAIA request to a national, provincial or municipal public body and is refused access has the right to file an internal appeal. This is done by completing a PAIA Form B and filing it with the national, provincial or municipal public body. A copy of South African Human Rights Commission 39