PRIVACY INTERNATIONAL AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM DECISION
(c) locate and examine, remove, modify or substitute equipment hardware or
software which is capable of yielding information of the type described in a) and b);
(d) enable and facilitate surveillance activity by means of the equipment.”
4. The Investigatory Powers Act 2016
29. The IPA became law on 29 October 2016. Some parts of the Act are
already in force, it appears that others including Part 5 (see below), are to be
brought into force by regulations. For a detailed overview of the IPA see
Big Brother Watch and Others v. the United Kingdom, (nos. 58170/13,
62322/14 and 24960/15, §§ 196-202, ECHR, 13 September 2018).
30. Part 5 of the IPA concerns targeted equipment interference. It sets
out provisions for issuing targeted warrants, including the requirement that
they are approved by a Judicial Commissioner before being granted by the
Secretary of State. The Act will require that bulk interception and bulk
equipment interference warrants may only be issued where the main
purpose of the interception is to acquire intelligence relating to individuals
outside the United Kingdom, even where the conduct occurs within the
United Kingdom. Similarly, interference with the privacy of persons in the
United Kingdom will be permitted only to the extent that it is necessary for
that purpose. It will also introduce a “double-lock” for the most intrusive
surveillance powers, meaning that a warrant issued by the Secretary of State
will also require the approval of one of the appointed Judicial
Commissioners. There will also be protections for journalistic and legally
privileged material, including a requirement for judicial authorisation for the
acquisition of communications data identifying journalists’ sources;
sanctions for the misuse of powers, including the creation of new criminal
offences; and a right of appeal from the IPT on a point of law, to the Court
of Appeal in England and Wales or the Court of Session (Scotland).
31. On 13 February 2017 Part 8 of the IPA providing for the
appointment of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner and other Judicial
Commissioners came into force. On 17 May 2018, the Commissioner
announced that the Judicial Commissioners had been appointed, technical
support staff recruited and that the organisation was ready to commence the
new warranty regime. The Commissioner also announced that his offices
are designing a new, unified inspection regime that will build on the
practices developed under its three predecessors: the Interception of
Communications Commissioner, the Intelligence Services Commissioner
and the Chief Surveillance Commissioner.
5. Relevant case-law
32. Following the proceedings in the IPT, the applicants sought a
judicial review of the decision of the IPT insofar as it concerned section 5 of
ISA. In order to do so, they argued before the domestic courts that the
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