Why are some documents and cases exempt from public disclosure?

The agencies’ records may contain information protected by a statutory duty of non-disclosure. It may also be information that may or must be exempt from public disclosure by law. In these circumstances, an agency has an obligation to ensure that others do not gain access to or learn this information when the record is published. All or parts of the case and document information may therefore not be disclosed in the public record that is published. In such circumstances, the agency that owns the record must state why it is exempt from public disclosure.  The grounds for the exemption explain why the information has not been disclosed. The fact that a document is exempt from public disclosure does not prevent you from requesting access to the document. The agency has a duty to consider more public access to government papers and the duty of non-disclosure basically only applies to information and not the entire document.