Surveillance by intelligence services – Volume II: field perspectives and legal update
Promising practice
Promoting transparency in oversight
Regularly issuing detailed reports
The Italian COPASIR, the French DPR, the German PKGr and the United Kingdom’s ISC are legally obliged to
regularly publish reports. This promotes transparency by regularly informing parliament and the public about
the parliamentary oversight committees’ work.
Italy, COPASIR (2017); France, DPR (2017); Germany, PKGr (2016); and United Kingdom, ISC (2016)
Reporting on number of parliamentary committee sessions
In Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, parliamentary oversight committees report on the number
of sessions held during the reporting period. This allows the public to be informed about the amount of time
invested in overseeing the work of intelligence services.
Italy, COPASIR (2017); France, DPR (2017); Germany, PKGr (2016); and United Kingdom, ISC (2016)
Reporting on content of parliamentary committee hearings
The United Kingdom’s ISC provides in its annual report a link to the transcripts of the hearings held during the
reporting period, hosted on its website, thereby providing a significant level of information about its work
United Kingdom, ISC (2016)
Reporting on number of staff of intelligence services
The United Kingdom’s ISC and the French DPR specify the number of staff working for each of the intelligence
services. This means the public is informed about the size of intelligence services.
United Kingdom, ISC (2016); and France, DPR (2017)
Availability of expert bodies’ annual reports in English
The Belgian Standing Committee I, the Dutch CTIVD, the French DPR, the Danish TET and the Greek ADAE publish
their respective annual reports in both the original language and in English. This promotes cooperation and
a better understanding of the oversight bodies’ work beyond national borders.
Belgium, Standing Committee I (2016); Netherlands, CTIVD (2016); France, DPR (2017); Denmark, TET (2017); and Greece, ADAE (2016)
Reports on safeguard breaches by intelligence services
The United Kingdom’s IOCCO reports on interception errors by the intelligence services. IOCCO lists the safeguards
provided by the surveillance legislation and presents statistics on the breaches per safeguard by the intelligence
services.
United Kingdom, IOCCO (2016)
Reports on number of individuals under surveillance
The French CNCTR and the German G10 Commission’s annual reports provide statistics on the number of
individuals that were under surveillance during the reporting period. The data come from the exercise of the
oversight powers granted to these expert bodies.
France, CNCTR (2016); Germany, Federal Parliament (2017)
Report on intelligence services cooperation
The Belgian Standing Committee I’s annual report published in 2016 presents the committee’s endorsement
of international cooperation of intelligence services regarding foreign terrorist fighters. In the report, the
committee also outlines a number of principles that should govern international cooperation among intelligence
services as well as its oversight.
Belgium, Standing Committee I (2016)
90