Contact
Biography
- MA (Hons) University of St Andrews
- MSc (Dist) University of Edinburgh
- Hon. LLD University of St Andrews
Kevin Dunion was the first Scottish Information Commissioner (2003-2012), responsible for enforcing the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004. He is now Honorary Professor in the School of Law, and Executive Director of the Centre for Freedom of Information. He is also a Visiting Professor at Northumbria University.
He is a member of the World Bank’s Access to Information Appeals Board and Board member of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission.
Prior to becoming Commissioner he was for many years engaged in environmental research and campaigning, and in 2000 was awarded an OBE for services to Friends of the Earth International, of which he was Chair (1996-2000).
He was Rector of the University of St Andrews (2008-2011) and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts.
Research
His book Freedom of Information in Scotland in Practice is the first authoritative text on freedom of information law and compliance since the law was introduced.
Whilst Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Strathclyde he pursued a particular interest in environmental justice, which led to the publication of his book Troublemakers - the Struggle for Environmental Justice in Scotland.
Currently he is researching issues affecting the interpretation and enforcement of access to information laws internationally and recently published a report 'In the Experience of Information Commissioners' resulting from surveys of Commissioners conducted in 2013.
Stories
News
Professor Kevin Dunion spoke to BBC Radio Scotland about the Scottish Government’s response its own Access to Information Rights consultation.