4
Interception of Communications Act 1985
c. 56
(4) A certificate such as is mentioned in subsection (2) above
shall not be issued except under the hand of the Secretary of
State.
(5) References in the following provisions of this Act to a
certificate are references to a certificate such as is mentioned in
subsection (2) above.
Issue and
duration of
warrants.
4.-(1) A warrant shall not be issued except
(a) under the hand
(b)
of the Secretary of State ; or
in an urgent
case where the Secretary of State has expressly authorised its issue and a statement of that fact
is endorsed thereon, under the hand of an official of his
department of or above the rank of Assistant Under
Secretary of State.
(2) A warrant shall, unless renewed under subsection (3) be.
low, cease to have effect at the end of the relevant period.
(3) The Secretary of State may, at any time before the end of
the relevant period, renew a warrant if he considers that the warrant continues to be necessary as mentioned in section 2(2) above.
(4) If, at any time before the end of the relevant period, the
Secretary of State considers that a warrant is no longer necessary
as mentioned in section 2(2) above, he shall cancel the warrant.
(5) A warrant shall not be renewed except by an instrument
under the hand of the Secretary of State.
(6)
In this section " the relevant period
(a)
in relation to
means-
"-
a warrant which has not been renewed,
(i) if the warrant was issued under subsection (1)(a)
above, the period of two months beginning with the
day on which it was issued ; and
(ii) if the warrant was issued under subsection
(1)(b) above, the period ending with the second working day following that day ;
(b) in relation to a warrant which was last renewed within
the period mentioned in paragraph (a)(ii) above, means
the period of two months beginning with the day on
which it was so renewed ; and
(c) in relation to a warrant which was last renewed at any
other time, means(i) if the instrument by which it was so renewed is
endorsed with a statement that the renewal is considered necessary as mentioned in section 2(2)(a) or
(c) above, the period of six months beginning with
the day on which it was so renewed ; and
(ii) if that instrument is not so endorsed, the period
of one month beginning with that day.