APPENDIX B: SUMMARIES OF SELECTED CASES local authority must thus make the necessary educational materials available to all pupils, including pupils who have not returned educational materials which their school has previously issued to them. The Ombudsman agreed with the Ministry’s conception of the law and found the school’s practice of withholding educational materials to be a matter for criticism. The Ombudsman also considered the issue of compensation for lost school books, which in his opinion must be resolved on the basis of the general rules of Danish law on non-contractual damages. The Ombudsman explained in general terms that part of the law of torts which was of relevance to the case and stated, among other things, that a pupil must make a plausible and convincing explanation as to how a book has been accidentally lost if he or she is to be exempted from liability. Furthermore, a local authority will to a large extent be able to raise a claim against the pupil’s parents pursuant to the Children’s Liability for Damages Act. 2012-11. Local authority’s charging of fee for supplying copies of property assessment notices A lawyer complained that a local authority charged a fee of DKK 70 for copies of property assessment notices with reference to section 30 a of the Act on Taxation of Real Property and to the executive order on local authorities’ right to charge a fee for supplying information on real property to private individuals. The Ombudsman obtained a statement from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Interior. The Ministry was of the opinion that, based on an interpretation of the purpose of section 30 a of the Act on Taxation of Real Property and the appurtenant executive order, local authorities had no legal basis for charging a fee for supplying copies of property assessment notices. The purpose of the provisions had been to compensate local authorities for the administrative work of filling in charts with information on real property – typically in connection with property transactions. The administrative burden of supplying a copy of a property assessment notice was significantly lighter. In the Ministry’s opinion the local authority’s supplying of copies was instead governed by the Act on Public Access to Documents on Public Files and the provisions on the charging of fees issued under the authority of that Act. 121