BIG BROTHER WATCH AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
(c) GCHQ
109. Section 4 of the ISA provided that it was the duty of the Director of
GCHQ, who was appointed by the Secretary of State for Foreign and
Commonwealth Affairs (as he then was), to ensure that there were
arrangements for securing that it obtained no information except so far as
necessary for the proper discharge of its functions and that no information
was disclosed by it except so far as necessary.
110. According to section 3 of the ISA, one of the functions of GCHQ
was to monitor or interfere with electromagnetic, acoustic and other
emissions and any equipment producing such emissions and to obtain and
provide information derived from or related to such emissions or equipment
and from encrypted material. This function was exercisable only in the
interests of national security, with particular reference to the State’s defence
and foreign policies; in the interests of the economic well-being of the
United Kingdom in relation to the actions or intentions of persons outside
the British Islands; or in support of the prevention or detection of serious
crime.
(d) Counter-Terrorism Act 2008
111. Section 19 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 allowed the
disclosure of information to any of the intelligence services for the purpose
of the exercise of any of their functions. Information obtained by an
intelligence service in connection with the exercise of its functions could be
used by that service in connection with the exercise of any of its other
functions.
112. Information obtained by MI5 could be disclosed for the purpose of
the proper discharge of its functions, for the purpose of the prevention or
detection of serious crime, or for the purpose of any criminal proceedings.
Information obtained by MI6 could be disclosed for the purpose of the
proper discharge of its functions, in the interests of national security, for the
purpose of the prevention or detection of serious crime, or for the purpose of
any criminal proceedings. Information obtained by GCHQ could be
disclosed by it for the purpose of the proper discharge of its functions or for
the purpose of any criminal proceedings.
(e) The Data Protection Act 1998 (“the DPA”)
113. The DPA was the legislation transposing into United Kingdom law
Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of personal data. Each of the
intelligence services was a “data controller” for the purposes of the DPA
and, as such, they were required to comply – subject to exemption by
Ministerial certificate – with the data protection principles in Part 1 of
Schedule 1, including:
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