16
KENNEDY v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
61. The Commissioner is required to report to the Prime Minister if he
finds that there has been a violation of the provisions of RIPA or if he
considers that the safeguards under section 15 have proved inadequate
(sections 58(2) and (3) RIPA). The Commissioner must also make an
annual report to the Prime Minister regarding the exercise of his functions
(section 58(4)). Under section 58(6), the Prime Minister must lay the annual
report of the Commissioner before Parliament. Finally, the Commissioner is
required to assist the IPT with any request for information or advice it may
make (section 57(3) and paragraph 78 below)).
b. Relevant extracts of reports
62. In his 2000 report, the Commissioner noted, as regards the discharge
of their duties by the Secretaries of State:
“12. ... I have been impressed with the care that they take with their warrantry work,
which is very time consuming, to ensure that warrants are issued only in appropriate
cases and, in particular, in ensuring that the conduct authorised is proportionate to
what is sought to be achieved by the intercepts.”
63. At paragraph 15, on the question of safeguards, he said:
“... my advice and approval were sought and given in respect of the safeguard
documents either before or shortly after 2 October 2000. The Home Secretary also
sought my advice in relation to them and they were approved by him ...”
64. As to the need for secret surveillance powers, the Commissioner
commented:
“45. The interception of communications is, as my predecessors have expressed in
their Report, an invaluable weapon for the purpose set out in section 5(3) of RIPA
and, in particular, in the battle against serious crime ...”
65. In his report for 2001, the Commissioner noted:
“10. Many members of the public are suspicious about the interception of
communications, and some believe that their own conversations are subject to
unlawful interception by the security, intelligence or law enforcement agencies ... In
my oversight work I am conscious of these concerns. However, I am as satisfied as I
can be that the concerns are, in fact, unfounded. Interception of an individual's
communications can take place only after a Secretary of State has granted a warrant
and the warrant can be granted on strictly limited grounds set out in Section 5 of
RIPA, essentially the interests of national security and the prevention or detection of
serious crime. Of course, it would theoretically be possible to circumvent this
procedure, but there are in place extensive safeguards to ensure that this cannot
happen, and it is an important part of my work to ensure that these are in place, and
that they are observed. Furthermore, any attempt to get round the procedures which
provide for legal interception would, by reason of the safeguards, involve a major
conspiracy within the agency concerned which I believe would, for practical purposes,
be impossible. I am as satisfied as it is possible to be that deliberate unlawful
interception of communications of the citizen does not take place ...”
66. He said of the section 15 safeguards: