PAIA Access to Information — the Act, section by section · free POPIA Guide ↗
PAIA / Sections / Section 89
Section 89

Liability

Part 7 · General Provisions

No person is criminally or civilly liable for anything done in good faith in the exercise or performance or purported exercise or performance of any power or duty in terms of this Act or the rules made under section 79.

[S 89 substituted by s 28 of Act 66 of 2008.]
good-faith protectionliabilityimmunity
Beyond the text

What this means in practice

  • Good-faith exercise of PAIA powers and duties attracts no criminal or civil liability — protection for officers who act honestly.
  • It protects genuine judgement calls, not bad-faith obstruction (which the offences in s.90 target).
Relevant tool

PopiGuard helps your information officer act in documented good faith — the exact posture s.89 protects.

See PopiGuard →
← s.88 — Repealed (repealed)s.90 — Offences