Judgment Approved by the court for handing down.
Privacy International v Investigatory Powers Tribunal
(12) An act is done in circumstances falling within this
subsection if it(a) is done in relation to property which was mistakenly
believed to be outside the British Islands either when the
authorisation under this section was given or at a subsequent
time or which has been brought within the British Islands
since the giving of the authorisation; but
(b) is done before the end of the fifth working day after the
day on which the presence of the property in the British
Islands first becomes known.
(13) In subsection (12) the reference to the day on which the
presence of the property in the British Islands first becomes
known is a reference to the day on which it first appears to a
member of the Intelligence Service or of GCHQ, after the
relevant time(a) that the belief that the property was outside the British
Islands was mistaken; or
(b) that the property is within those Islands.
(14) In subsection (13) 'the relevant time' means, as the case may
be –
(a) the time of the mistaken belief mentioned in subsection
(12)(a); or
(b) the time at which the property was, or was most recently,
brought within the British Islands.
Sir Mark Waller’s report
15.
Prior to the coming into force of the provisions of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016
establishing the office of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner, there was an
Intelligence Services Commissioner appointed pursuant to RIPA. In 2014 and 2015 the
holder of this office was the Rt Hon Sir Mark Waller, a former Lord Justice of Appeal.
In his report for the year 2014 laid before Parliament and published on 25 June 2015,
he said:“Thematic Property Warrants
I have expressed concerns about the use of what might be termed
"thematic" property warrants issued under section 5 of ISA. ISA
section 7 makes specific reference to thematic authorisations
(what are called class authorisation) because it refers “to a
particular act" or to "acts" undertaken in the course of an
operation. However, section 5 is narrower, referring to "property
so specified".